


Cut to the Bone

by Angelikah



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Arranged Marriage, BDSM, Dark, Eventual Smut, F/M, Graphic Violence, Semi-Mafia AU, Werewolf!Klaus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:34:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelikah/pseuds/Angelikah
Summary: When Bill falls ill from a fast-acting poison, Caroline has no choice but to agree to an arranged marriage to keep her family's legacy and company safe and in her own capable hands. Klaus is the perfect choice on paper, other than her complete certainty that he's a complete psychopath. Klaus has plans of his own, though. Big ones. And he's determined for Caroline to play a part in executing them. Will they be able to come to an understanding despite Caroline's reluctance to put her trust in him? Or are they destined for a marriage of convenience?
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Malachai "Kai" Parker (minor), Camille O'Connell/Damon Salvatore (minor), Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 133
Kudos: 269





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coveredinthecolors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coveredinthecolors/gifts).



> Hey everyone! I have 72k words of this fic already with about four scenes left to write. It should be smooth sailing with updates every Tuesday.
> 
> This fic will have BDSM in the later chapters but has a relatively solid plot. I will mark chapters with BDSM smut at the top, but we have a while to go. Klaus is solidly dark in this (think Tom Riddle vibes but with none of the racism and a solid love interest; very Travelers-esque if you've read that fic of mine), so please be aware of that before you dive in.
> 
> Thank you to honestgrins and klarolinedrabbles for beta heroism, and to coveredinthecolors for being so patient with me. This fic is a gift for her. Happy late birthday!
> 
> Hope you like it!

**Prologue**

"Hi, Dad," Caroline greeted, holding the mobile floo in front of her to see her father's head floating in the miniature flame. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good," Bill said with a smile. He was practically beaming, and it was setting Caroline on edge. He wasn't usually this happy. "I have news."

"What kind of news?"

"I might have secured an arrangement for you."

Her heart sank to her stomach. "An arrangement?"

He nodded. "I just spoke to Bartholomew Castle. His son is interested in a match."

Caroline worried her lip between her teeth. She knew that this had been coming. She was sixteen, almost of age, so it made sense that her father was looking for a match for her. Her family's line of work made it imperative that they secure someone socially acceptable to help her run the business when she inherited it. She'd been raised to be a socialite, but she'd secretly been hoping that it might be possible to push off having a match for long enough that her father would let her run the business herself. 

Not to mention the whole loveless marriage concept. She just couldn't shake off the desperate want to marry someone for love. Someone who chose her, instead of choosing her wealth and pedigree. She didn't want to be miserable for the rest of her life, stuck in a cold partnership, and that's what a match would lead her to.

Especially with Lucien Castle, the definition of skeeze personified.

"Dad..." she started, trailing off when she saw his face. "Lucien?"

"He comes from a good family. They were on the right side of the second war but won't have a problem with the family business."

"So he's super shady but not a pureblood supremacist. That's a great bar to set."

He sighed. "Caroline..."

"What? I don't like him. He's creepy."

"Well, from what I understand, Bartholomew's spoken to him and he's fully prepared to go forward with the match. You won't have to marry until you're of age. Give him a chance. Maybe you'll be surprised."

Caroline wrinkled her nose, her instinct to resist more fighting with her knowledge that she had to do what was best for the family if she didn't want the business to slip through her fingers. And she _wanted_ the business. She wanted to prove that she was capable and strong despite what everyone thought of her. Maybe if the cost was marrying a total creep, she could take the hit?

After all, arranged marriages often were basically business arrangements. She wouldn't necessarily have to spend any time with him. Her parents had barely shared a wing of the house before they separated.

"Maybe."

"I have a meeting with him next week to talk it through a bit more. Just think about it."

"Okay," Caroline agreed with a reluctant nod. "I'll think about it."

He rewarded her with a beaming smile, one that made her insides clench with guilt at her reluctance. "That's my girl."

 _Gag_.

"Is there anything else?" she asked, wanting to get off the floo as soon as possible so that she could scream into her pillow and wallow in her misery.

"How's your first week back? Excited to get some use out of the robes you got for Christmas?"

At least he was making an effort to pretend to care.

* * *

"I just don't think I'm getting the wand movement right."

"Then try harder," Klaus shot back unsympathetically, not looking up from the spellbook he'd gotten from the restricted section, courtesy of Professor Slughorn. He was such a trusting old coot. 

It was ridiculous how inept they were, honestly. His wandless magic was good enough that he didn't even have a need for a real wand anymore, and he _still_ knew how to do it. Over the years, he'd learned that his roommates were talentless nuisances at best. As soon as he'd sufficiently earned their loyalty and fear, he'd been free to treat them as he wished, and it had been a relief to be able to voice his discontent with their incompetence. They begged for his help with _everything_ , and it was trying. 

"I don't know what to do," Maddox whined. "How am I supposed to try if I can't even get the wand movement?"

"If you get it right will you stop talking?"

"I mean, if I can practice--"

"It's a simple flick, mate. See?" Klaus asked, grabbing his fake wand and flicking it, turning the pin cushion into a hedgehog and flicking it again to turn it back. "Try."

Maddox obliged, sparks flying out but not quite reaching the pin cushion, and before Klaus could show him again, Lucien entered the room, a bounce in his step. "Evening," he greeted, nodding at all of them, his head dipping a bit more when he saw Klaus.

"What's got you in a good mood?"

"Just got word from my father that he's found a match for me after Hogwarts," Lucien said with a broad smile, his teeth glinting in the light of the torches.

Klaus rolled his eyes, preparing to go back to his book. Pureblood traditions were ever so messy. Barbaric, practically. Who would bother?

"What unfortunate twit did your father fool into marrying you?" Tristan drawled from the corner.

"Caroline Forbes," Lucien said, his tone _dripping_ with smugness.

Klaus stiffened. Caroline, _his_ Caroline, was to be betrothed to Lucien? "Caroline?" he repeated, putting down his book slowly, his eyes glittering.

Lucien froze, obviously recognizing the tone for the warning it was. He swallowed audibly. "Yes. Caroline. She's in sixth ye--"

"I know who she is," Klaus snapped, feeling his magic surge through his veins. He closed his eyes to rein it in, taking a deep breath. "And you've made the bargain already?"

Lucien looked confused. "Err...No. My father still has to draw up the contract. It isn't going to be signed until next week, most likely."

Klaus's lips thinned as he pressed them together. Caroline's family was powerful, the Forbes dynasty having more galleons than they knew what to do with and enough influence to buy legislation if they cared enough. They were philanthropists when it suited them, and the less savory businesses they held, the ones everyone pretended not to know about, traded in a great many things he was interested in.

If that wasn't enough motivation in and of itself, she was quite the creature. A quick-witted and pretty thing, if a bit vain. Her laugh was infectious, and she had a knack for accomplishing anything she set her mind to. A true force of nature. He'd decided quite early on that he was going to have her, had developed a plan for the spring to draw her in by plying her with his attention. He'd visit her at her father's antique shop over the summer, ingratiate himself even more, and set up a courtship, hoping she'd mature a bit by the time she graduated. That way, he wouldn't have to tolerate her on a daily basis, but he'd show his affections for her by sending her pretty trinkets as surprises and taking her for dates on Hogsmeade weekends. She'd be eating out of the palm of his hand in no time, and he'd have access to her family's fortune and collection of priceless dark artifacts. 

He hadn't had any idea that her father was looking for a match for her, however. He knew her mother was muggle-born, though from a powerful muggle family, and it hadn't occurred to him that they followed the old traditions. That was a complication.

If he knew her at all, and he liked to think he'd done his research well, Caroline wasn't all that fond of Lucien. She thought him a bit of a prick, and she wasn't wrong. She was also a bit of a hopeless romantic, and he had no doubt that she'd been hoping to marry someone she actually held affection for. Lucien was likely not an ideal candidate. However, she was also the loyal sort, and would likely soldier on for the good of her family. He couldn't acquire her if she wasn't available, could he?

No, this wouldn't do at all. 

* * *

Caroline and April stilled in the hallway when they heard a chorus of panicked yells from a room down the corridor, and they drew their wands, hurrying over to investigate. It wasn't quite curfew, but they had the first shift for patrol and had met at the library to walk over to the Prefects' Lounge to check in before their shift.

Caroline got their first, her jaw dropping open when she saw what was going on. "Oh my god!"

Lucien was gasping on his back on the stone floor, his lips blue from lack of oxygen as he flailed, his hands grasping frantically on the gills that had sprouted on his neck.

"Hold still," Tristan said impatiently, waving his wand at his friend. "Aguamenti."

Caroline felt her heart leap to her throat when she watched the jet of water from Tristan's wand give him back a bit of color, though he was still clearly in a lot of pain.

"Can one of you make yourselves useful and get a teacher?" Tristan snapped at her and April when he noticed them in the doorway. She nodded, trying to figure out whether she had a better chance of getting to the teacher's lounge one floor up or if she should go to Professor Sprout's office in the other direction and hope that the professor had lingered. When she turned on her heel she caught the eye of the only calm-looking person.

Klaus was leaning against the wall, twirling his wand between his fingers, looking almost bored. He watched Lucien splutter and cough without any sympathy or fear, apparently completely unbothered by the spectacle in front of him, by one of his roommates writhing on the floor in agony as he struggled to breathe between shots of water to his face.

Her breath stalled in her lungs, and she felt her face pale, a whimper falling out of her as what had clearly occurred hit her like a punch to the stomach. Klaus apparently heard the noise, stiffening and turning to look at her, his face shifting from apathy to surprise, his expression softening into concern when he saw her fear.

“Are you all right, Caroline?" he asked softly, and she shook her head, backing up on unsteady feet before fleeing through the door and hurtling down the hall to take the stairs to the teacher's lounge, her head spinning. 

From the very beginning, Klaus seemed to effortlessly fit in anywhere he went. He always knew the right things to say, his dimpled smiles and liberal use of pet names making him a hit with the girls. But she'd always suspected his affability and effortless charm was only skin deep. There had always been _something_ about Klaus that rubbed her the wrong way.

She still couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that no matter how much his veneer of neutrality stayed put in public, she could always feel the bubbling rage beneath his skin at any slight or misstep by people around him.

His presence always made her hair stand on end, gave her a chill that she couldn't explain. It had stopped bothering her around the middle of her fifth year when he’d begun to talk to her more, to show more of an interest in her, but that had just made her more wary. He'd seemed to pick up on her distrust about halfway through the year before, and he grew warmer towards her than he was with anyone else. Some of the girls had giggled and ribbed her about it, teasing her and saying that she was so _lucky_ he seemed to have _taken a liking_ to her. She'd always scoffed, brushing off their claims. 

It was overwhelmingly obvious to her that Klaus didn't _like_ people. He liked power. His followers--she refused to call them _friends_ ,, since they seemed to be trapped in some cult of personality with him--were weirdly subservient. They all seemed scared of him, and it made her nervous that he had that kind of control over the pompous dirtbags she'd hated for her entire childhood. When he ordered them to do something, they executed it. No questions asked. She'd known those boys her whole life, and if you'd asked her before she got to school for first year whether they'd all start blindly following some random muggle-born from Wales around like lost puppies, she would have laughed in your face. 

Maybe there had been something to the gentle teasing from her roommates, she thought with a twist of nausea. Klaus had been even nicer to her lately, had taken more of an interest. And Lucien was his roommate, he’d likely told him of their planned engagement. It seemed insane, her suspicions, but even as she tried to talk herself out of it she knew it was true, even if no one would believe her.

_Klaus had tried to kill her fiancé._

* * *

They'd only been back at school for two weeks after winter break and Caroline was already exhausted. Because of the accident, patrolling assignments had been increased for the next few weeks. She hadn't realized how draining it would be. Walking around a route from ten to midnight with April Young three times a week had not been her version of a fun time before the increase, and now they were running out of things to talk about. The other girl was nice and all, but it was just....so boring. She hoped it would get better with time. Or maybe she could ask Rose Weasley, the head girl, to switch up their partners.

The only good part was that prefect patrol pairs had to be two students from different houses, so at least she'd never end up walking around at night with the serial killer next door.

The more she thought about it, Caroline grew more certain that what had happened to Lucien the week before had been anything but an accident. Even though Lucien swore up and down that it had done it to himself, there was no way that he had been powerful enough to pull off the partial fish transfiguration on his own. Klaus was one of the most powerful wizards she'd ever met, the pure magic rolling off of him in waves anytime he got the least bit emotional. He could have easily pulled it off and made it look like an accident. Plus, not to be arrogant or anything, but he definitely had motive. The only thing that had stopped Lucien from drowning on air was Tristan holding a steady water charm on him as they rushed him to the hospital wing. It all added up.

It had taken her days to get Bonnie to sit down long enough to listen to her "crazy conspiracy theory" about how Klaus had been the one to do the charm. It was clear that her best friend didn't believe that it was purposeful, but at least Bonnie was willing to concede that Klaus had probably done it and had Lucien lie to cover for him. It was immensely frustrating that the facts were right in front of the entire school that Klaus had clearly tried to _murder his roommate_ , but no one would believe it.

She still kind of couldn’t believe he managed to pull it off when it seemed so obvious to her, no matter how charming he was.

Caroline watched as the laughing boys by the fireplace all went silent immediately upon Klaus's arrival in the common room, waiting for him to approach them. Instead, he glanced around the common room before his eyes landed on her, and she felt herself freeze up as he approached, stiffening, feeling like a deer in headlights. He smiled slightly, sitting down on a chair at her table and turning to face her, his body turned completely towards her to give her his full attention.

"Caroline," he greeted with a nod and a dimpled grin. 

"Hi."

"I was hoping you'd do me the honor of accompanying me to our last Hogsmeade weekend before Easter break?" he asked, somehow managing to sound earnest and hopeful.

She swallowed. All of her suspicions coming together at once. God, he wanted to _date_ her. How was she supposed to answer that?

"Um, I'm...engaged. Actually," she said, feeling the heat fill her cheeks. "To Lucien Castle."

"Still? Pity that," he said softly. "Well, if you change your mind, do let me know."

She nodded, every inch of her screaming to run as fast as she could, only relaxing when Klaus returned to the fireplace with his followers.

That night, she got a call from her father, who seemed to be in a foul mood. "What's wrong?"

"The Castles have called off the engagement. Something about finding a better match," he said, his teeth gritted. "I hope they know that they've made an enemy of us."

"Dad, calm down," Caroline said, her heart racing in her chest, feeling a bit lightheaded. "It's not a big deal."

"It's an insult," Bill basically spat, still clearly angry. "Don't worry, Caroline. We'll find you someone."

"Oh, no rush at all. Seriously," she said with a bright smile that was completely fake. "I'm not worried."

It was true. She wasn't worried. She was _terrified_.


	2. Devils Roll the Dice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! Thank you again to honestgrins and klarolinedrabbles for beta work and emotional support. I hope you guys enjoy :)

Caroline had been trained her whole life to lock up all of her emotions and then carry them to her grave, but she'd never been very good at it. Staring at her unconscious father lying on the hospital bed in St. Mungo's was not conducive to improving the skill. She looked up when she heard the door to the private room open, seeing Healer Fell walk in. The healer gave her a sympathetic look before she sat down on a stool by the ticking magical instrument hooked up to Bill's bed, the squeaky fabric of the stool making a sound that made Caroline's hair stand on end. She noticed that the stack of parchment in Healer Fell's hands was much too thick for just a few notes on what potions to force feed him when they got home, and Caroline felt her heart sink to her stomach.

Caroline just stared, waiting for Healer Fell to spit it out already, knowing that if she tried to talk she'd just cry.

"It seems that your father has been a victim of some sort of poison," Healer Fell began, her tone gentle. "A rare one. We're not quite sure which one yet, but Healer Gilbert, the poison specialist from Winikus Hospital in Salem, will portkey to London within the hour to take a look."

"Thanks," Caroline whispered, swallowing audibly before she continued, trying her best to keep the emotion from her voice. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"We don't know anything for sure," Healer Fell cautioned, waiting for Caroline's nod that she understood before she continued. "His lungs seem to have collapsed, but you got him here fast enough that we can keep him breathing with magic. We're wary of giving him any potions just yet because we're not sure if the poison he's fed would react badly with them. The fairly nasty ones tend to be brewed specifically so that if they are tried to be cured by regular healing potions the symptoms will worsen."

"Okay."

"As long as he keeps reacting well to the charm, we should be able to keep him stable for another week at minimum. I know it looks scary, but there's no need to fear the worst for now. All right?"

"Okay. Thanks."

Healer Fell gave her a small smile in what was probably an attempt to make her feel better. It didn't. "Your father is in good hands, Ms. Forbes. I promise."

He'd better be. They paid the hospital enough galleons to buy a box at the world cup.

"Thanks."

"We need you to sign these," Healer Fell said, handing Caroline the stack of parchment. "Because he's a muggle, your father's partner can't consent to any possible emergency magical procedures on his behalf, so you're responsible for that."

Caroline nodded slowly, looking through the stack. Healer Fell seemed to grow more annoyed as the minutes ticked by, Caroline reading every section carefully before initialing or signing the designated lines.

"It's really just a simple consent form," Healer Fell said impatiently after a few minutes, stiffening when Caroline looked up at her, her eyebrows raised.

"You don't have to stay while I read it," Caroline pointed out, keeping her tone as pleasant as possible. "I'm sure you have other patients you can see."

"I'm happy to wait."

Caroline returned to her work, resisting the urge to go through it even more slowly to be petty. With Bill out of commission, Caroline was the de facto head of the family, and with it the head of the business, at least temporarily. Moving too quickly through paperwork could leave her open to someone slipping a magical contract into it without her noticing, and once those had been signed it was impossible to revoke consent, whether the signer had the intent to agree or not. She couldn't take the chance that someone saw an opportunity to hoodwink the grieving only child of a rich, slightly shady business owner and attempted to take it.

When she was finally done, she handed the stack back to Healer Fell with the provided quill. "Anything else?" Caroline asked, already picking up her purse and putting it over one shoulder, intending to go get a snack and catch up on some work before she came back to keep watch.

"Not for now. We'll be in touch."

Caroline motioned for Healer Fell to exit first before following her out the door. She nodded at the two security guards that immediately moved to block the entrance to her father's hospital room, their wands already drawn, scanning for threats. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"I'm happy to get it while you stay with your father, gorgeous."

"Seriously, it's fine. I need the walk."

Enzo seemed to want to argue, but thought better of it. He nodded, giving her a small smile. "In that case, I'd take some coffee. Rosza?"

"Same," Josh said, giving Caroline an easy smile before his face turned serious at the hitch in her breath. "The boss is going to be fine, Care. He's had worse happen."

"But what if all the worses add up?" she choked out, turning to face them, shielding her face from the only entrance to the hallway of the private ward so that any intruders wouldn't see her cry. "What if this is it?"

She could tell that Josh was about to reassure her that everything would be fine, but Enzo shook his head, cutting in before he could get the words out. "Then you'll be a brilliant company head. You've been preparing your whole life for this, Caroline. You've been shadowing him for years, and the whole family loves you. You know everything about the finances and the..." he lowered his voice, "you  _ know. _ "

She smiled in spite of herself. "Enzo! You can't talk about that in public!"

"See, gorgeous? Already enforcing the rules. You sure you don't want me or Rosza to get the food?"

"I'm sure."

"All right. I'll send a patronus to Salvatore to have him meet you at the entrance."

"Okay."

She took a shaky breath, about to turn around to leave when Josh reached to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting smile. "You're going to be okay, Caroline. No matter what happens. And we'll be with you the whole time."

She nodded, forcing a smile, her heart constricting in her chest. "Thanks."

When Stefan dropped her back off at the entrance to the ward a half an hour later, a tray of coffee and sandwiches floating behind her, she was in a slightly better mood. It persisted through most of the afternoon as she made mobile floo calls to the staff as she paced up and down the hallway and went through her paperwork at her father's bedside, only pausing to greet Healer Gilbert and watch him take some blood and administer an antidote minutes later. It faded when Healer Gilbert returned with the results of her father's post-antidote blood tests an hour or two later, the jovial face she'd remembered from her childhood playdates with his daughter Elena pulled into a deep frown.

"Is something wrong?"

He didn't look like he wanted to share whatever news he had, and she braced for the worst when he sat down, giving her a grim smile. "The majority of my news you won't want to hear, but I'll start with telling you that he'll live."

Caroline felt relief overtake her whole body, and she nearly burst into tears on the spot. only pulling herself out of her internal celebration when Healer Gilbert continued with, "For now."

"For now?"

He sighed. "As I understand it, you got him here as soon as you recognized symptoms. Is that correct? From what I remember, I doubt he was an easy person to herd into the fireplace."

Caroline snorted. "He was not."

"Well, you can tell him that you did the right thing. Even if he'd waited to come in until the morning he would have only made it the month. The antidote rapidly loses its potency after forty-eight hours from ingestion from the original poison. He has about a year now. Give or take a few months. It'll be hard to tell until his symptoms worsen."

"A year?" Caroline repeated.

Healer Gilbert nodded. "We can regrow the lungs easily, but the poison's done irreversible damage to the windpipe, and it will become difficult for him to survive without a breathing machine within a few months. After a year, it's likely that the breathing machine will become less effective, and he'll be in a lot of pain."

"Oh," Caroline breathed. She didn't know how else to respond or what to say, her eyes filling with tears. "I...okay."

"I'll let Healer Fell know the details, and she can see him for checkups monthly, or weekly if you prefer. She was one of my favorite residents at Salem. Your father will be in--"

"In good hands. I know," Caroline said hollowly.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline."

"Thanks. Me too."

* * *

Caroline tried not to groan when she saw her father's patronus bound into the room, the silvery bloodhound jumping up on to her desk and sitting down, looking at her expectantly as it waited for her to pay attention so it could deliver its message.

He’d gotten out of the hospital the week before and after getting an earful from her about not walking around too much when she’d found him trying to go up the spiral staircase without magic, he’d begun to send a patronus to call her. She tried not to grumble about it too much, knowing he was just following her directions and that she only had a year left with him. She didn’t want to take a single moment for granted.

"What?"

"Please come to my office when you have a moment. It's important," the dog said in her father's voice before disappearing into thin air.

She frowned. Her father usually didn’t shy away from giving her a specific reason for asking her over unless he thought she was in a meeting. It made her nervous. What if he was going to tell her something she didn’t want to hear? Was he getting worse? Had he gotten hurt?

She made her way across the mansion to her father's private wing, peeking in to make sure that he was alone before entering, closing the door behind her. "You wanted to see me?"

"Sit down," Bill said, waving to the chair in front of his desk and turning around to open the liquor cabinet behind him. Exasperation surged inside of her when she saw that all the liquor she'd managed to steal and throw out when he'd been on his work trip had been replaced.

"Dad, the healer told you that you can't--"

"It's a special occasion," he said impatiently, waving off her protests and pouring them both a glass. His excuse made her wary, and she didn't touch the bourbon when he set it in front of her.

"What's the occasion?"

"Your engagement," he said, clearly much too pleased with himself.

"My  _ what _ ?"

"You were in the same house as Klaus Mikaelson, weren't you? He was a year ahead of you at Hogwarts. Head Boy as well, if I remember rightly?"

"You remember right," Caroline said slowly, knowing that her father knew perfectly well that she'd remember that and already dreading what she was sure would be the next part of the conversation. He'd stopped talking about her getting married after the... _ thing  _ with Lucien for a few years, but he'd been after her to find a partner since she'd graduated. Both of them knew she needed one to cement their control over the business, but Bill was in more of a hurry. Now that Bill was dying and her cousin Camille had married and was pregnant, they were on an even faster timetable. If Caroline didn't have an heir to take over soon, Camille could easily make the argument that her baby should inherit the title, the wealth, and the company, and that was a risk that Caroline and her father were united in not wanting to take.

The Forbes family officially made their fortune by managing a few businesses, mostly apothecaries and other more specialty stores in the various magical neighborhoods, but they didn't shy away from dipping their hands in a few less traditional sectors of magical commerce. If you needed a potions ingredient that was dubiously legal, or a dark object that was hard to track down, the black market in Knockturn Alley was the place to go, and those black markets, after being funneled through a few shell companies and various off-shore accounts, all led back to the Forbes family.

Camille had her strengths. She was kind, good with people, and she knew how to read a room. But Caroline refused to have her family legacy put in the greedy hands of Camille's husband, who she was sure would run the empire into the ground. Her family had worked for centuries to build up the power and influence they had, and Damon Salvatore could easily burn it all down with a single impulsive order.

She was hoping to find someone herself, but she wasn't surprised that Bill had gone ahead of her to take care of it. They were similar people, both tending to get impatient when they perceived someone else to be moving too slowly to reach a goal they considered important. She wasn't exactly happy with the choice, but Klaus was, on paper, an excellent candidate.

Other than the fact that he was, like, a murderer.

"I went to him with a proposition," Bill said with a grin, his manner telling Caroline that he expected her to be  _ excited _ , that he thought she'd be  _ happy. _ "I've had my eye on him for you since you were teenagers. You've always told me about his talent for making friends wherever he goes. I think he'd be a good match for you."

Caroline resisted the urge to laugh. Klaus didn't have  _ friends _ . He had  _ followers _ . And he  _ was  _ ridiculously charming, even under an immense amount of pressure. Unfortunately, that was what they desperately needed. Caroline had been raised to schmooze, but she'd managed to convince her father to give her a leading position in the company after graduation, and now she basically ran it under Bill's supervision. She was too busy to go to events anymore, but they occasionally got in hot water no matter how careful they were to keep their more.... _ creative  _ endeavors under the radar. Having someone to attend fundraisers and keep up connections with the people in power who could make things disappear when necessary was important. As much as Caroline liked people and throwing parties, she was too busy to keep up with everyone she needed to, and keeping herself in check when faced with the upper echelons of pureblood society was exhausting.

She knew it wasn’t polite to call people bigots to their face, but someday she would, if she wasn’t careful.

Klaus definitely had a temper, but she’d never seen him lose it when it wasn’t advantageous to him to do so. He was much better at keeping a lid on his snappy retorts than she was, much more strategic in how and when he cut people down.

So yeah, great on paper, but unfortunately he was also a total sociopath. It was rude to armchair diagnose people, but she'd make an exception for him.

"I thought he was dating Aurora de Martel?" Caroline asked, reaching to take a sip of her bourbon, now thankful for the alcohol. It had been a little bit of a relief when she'd heard that he'd moved on to someone else with similar influence, but maybe he'd just been biding his time.

Bill smiled slightly. "Haven’t you heard? Her father had to step down from the board of Cleansweep due to a...financial issue. It was anonymously reported to the authorities, but apparently their intel wasn't wrong."

Caroline wasn't surprised. Bill's spies--soon to be her spies--rarely were mistaken, though she had no doubt it took a considerable amount of political capital to actually get the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to investigate at all. Bill must really be serious about this.

"And Klaus broke up with her?"

"From the grapevine, I heard it was mutual."

Caroline  _ sincerely  _ doubted that.

"That's too bad," Caroline said blandly, her fingernails clicking on the desktop as she fidgeted. It would be stupid not to be scared about getting married to Klaus, but if she could get a guarantee on her safety, there was no better choice. She was a good enough strategist to recognize that, and if she wanted to keep their legacy out of Damon's Salvatore's dirty paws, she was happy to let pretty much anyone shove a ring on her finger, even him. It's not like she had to like him, or anything. She didn't even have to talk to him unless they were in public. Caroline had barely been in her bassinet for an hour when her parents had moved to separate wings of the house, and they'd communicated primarily through assistants for most of Caroline's young life, up until they signed the divorce papers the day after Caroline came of age. "So, I'm assuming that you need my signature on a few things?"

"That's right," Bill said, pulling a folder out of his desk and sliding it to her. "He's coming over to sign everything tomorrow afternoon, so let me know if there are any changes you want to make by evening so that I can owl it over for his review. Sound good?"

"Yep! I'll probably want to add an unbreakable vow for protection from inflicting harm," Caroline said absently, already flipping through the documents.

"Do you think you need one?" Bill asked cautiously, and Caroline looked up at his tone, wincing at the look of concern on his face.

"I'd like one."

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Bill pressed, reaching out as though he wanted to pull the contract away from her, but she held fast.

"Just better safe than sorry," she said, shoving the folder into her briefcase, hoping she didn't sound like she was dodging the question. "I'll be fine. I promise."

She was  _ not  _ letting her family company fall into Damon's hands, even if she had to make an heir or two with someone who was clearly incredibly dangerous. Luckily, Klaus definitely wanted the power her family brought and he wasn't stupid enough to kill her for it, even if he almost certainly could have gotten away with it. He needed her alive to keep Camille from being able to stake her claim.

"If you're sure," Bill said slowly, and Caroline shot him a reassuring smile.

"Totally sure, Dad. I'll bring them back in a few hours, okay?"

"And then I'll see you for dinner?" he asked hopefully, beginning to push himself out of his chair to walk her to the door.

"Don't get up!" she scolded. "Merlin, it's like you're trying to die."

"I can walk, Caroline," he said, waving her off as he clambered to his feet, grabbing his cane and waving his wand to have his breathing machine trail behind him as he limped his way towards her. "Don't worry about me."

She kissed him on the cheek as she left, sighing as he closed the door behind her and running a hand through her hair before making her way back to her office on the other side of the mansion.

She began to pore over the paperwork as soon as she got back in her desk chair, writing up a copy of a protection clause and sending it off to her father, getting a response an hour later that it had been sent to Klaus to look over. She managed to forget about her pending engagement while she and her father ate dinner together, joking around and debating the prospects of the Holyhead Harpies versus the Appleby Arrows, and it was only when she was in her bed that night that it really hit her.

She was meeting her future husband in less than 24 hours, and with her father's illness and Camille continuing to hint at family functions that it might be time to hand the business over to her side of the bloodline, chances were that her wedding would be sooner rather than later, likely before April to make sure that her father was alive for it.

If you had told her sixteen year old self that Klaus Mikaelson was going to be her husband, she would have been horrified, and honestly Caroline wasn't sure that she felt any differently about it as an adult. She might even be more afraid now. Klaus was attractive and charming, and he used to remember her interests and follow up on things they'd talked about. He made her feel special, even if she could tell that he was only after the power that being associated with her could bring. Once the whole Lucien debacle happened, he was even more careful to be warm to her. As an adult, she was even more certain that he had only been out to use her, and the fact that he was handsome wouldn't be as distracting.

She was experienced enough to know that even though the package was pretty, Klaus was as clever and ruthless as he was powerful, and that made him dangerous.

She'd have to make sure to keep her head clear of any emotional distractions.

* * *

When he walked into the sitting room, his eyes immediately landed on Caroline, who was sitting in an armchair focused on paperwork, a glass of red wine balanced between her fingers. She tensed when he entered, her eyes moving up for a fraction of a second when she heard him sit down on the couch across the table, but she didn't speak.

He decided to wait her out. From what he remembered from his time with her at Hogwarts–which, considering how much time he spent observing her, was quite a lot–Caroline had been chatty enough that it shouldn't take too long. While he was waiting, he took the opportunity to admire her, to catalogue every twitch of her fingers and fleeting expression, looking for hints of how this afternoon would proceed.

He'd always been fascinated by her. At eleven years old he'd been more annoyed than anything else. She was bubbly and full of life, talked with her hands and smiled with her eyes. After growing up in a home as cold as his had been, his siblings all but forbidden to speak to him unless Mikael was out of the house for fear of getting a lashing, he'd found her vibrancy off-putting. Over the years as they grew, he realized he miscalculated. He'd found himself impressed with her magical abilities and admiring her sharp tongue. He watched her even more, noting her likes and dislikes, remembering anything and everything she'd told him about her family and her life.

He'd told himself it was for research, of course, that he’d needed to ingratiate himself with her because of her family. She could have been his ticket to pureblood high society, to the power and influence he craved. No one had ever thought he'd amount to anything, but he was determined to prove them wrong.

He'd made the mistake of underestimating her, and by the time he'd realized his error she'd grown from the bubbly, exuberant chess piece he'd hoped for to a clever tactician, as vibrant as ever but twice as likely to figure out his games. She'd always been wary, of course, likely having been taught that outsiders were risks, but after he'd learned that she could be an asset and behaved accordingly, she'd grown even colder.

She'd been attracted to him, that was obvious enough, but even though he occasionally coaxed out a smile or a laugh, they always seemed to have been extracted against her better judgment. He'd bait her just to get  _ something  _ out of her, needing that hit of her fire. He suspected that if he'd figured out her worth even just the year before, he could have been able to convince her to take a chance. Unfortunately, he'd slipped up. He would never claim that preventing her engagement to Lucien was a mistake, but he should have been more careful when he'd done it. His anger got in the way of his sense, and Caroline had grown skittish after that. She was clever as well, and had likely also deduced that he was after her money and influence.

She hadn't  _ quite  _ been wrong. That was what he wanted, but he also wanted Caroline, herself. He'd grown fond of her over the years, had kept abreast of her movements and activities, and he'd orchestrated a few casual run-ins, all of which had left him more certain than before that she was the one he wanted. He'd been laying the groundwork for years to receive the proposal for her hand, had turned his ambition into something Bill could view as an asset rather than a possible source of a hostile takeover, and he'd succeeded. Caroline  _ would  _ be his, the way she was supposed to have been seven years ago when she'd made what she likely thought was the unfortunate but sensible choice of stopping herself from wanting him.

But he wanted  _ her _ , and Klaus tended to get things he wanted.

"Sorry. I'm just finishing up my section of the agreement," she said without looking up from her parchment, her self-inking quill scratching the only noise in the otherwise silent room.

"Not a problem, love."

When she finally set it down to look at him, she gave him a forced smile, though he noticed her eyes look him up and down quickly, saw the quick swipe of her tongue over her lower lip and heard the quick skip of her heartbeat with the increased senses he gained near the full moon. He had hoped she would still be attracted to him after all these years, but the confirmation was good. He needed as many controlled variables in his study of how to make Caroline Forbes tick as he possibly could.

Soon to be Caroline Mikaelson, of course.

"So," she began, her fingers lacing together on her lap. "How have you been, Klaus?"

"Good," he said, flashing her a dimpled smile that she didn't return. "I'm doing well. Yourself?"

She shrugged. "Work is work. But things have mostly been fine."

"Glad to hear it."

She nodded. "Did you chance to look over the paperwork?"

"Straight to business, I see," he murmured, smirking at the flash of annoyance that crossed her face. "Yes. As you well know, I had a chance to send it back with a confirmation yesterday."

"Good. We should get started, then. Did Jenna offer you a drink when you came in?"

"She did, but I'm fine without."

"Okay." Caroline swallowed, glancing down at the stack of parchment before setting it on the table, turning it towards him with the quill. "So, we have the regular non-disclosure agreements and the financial stuff for if we decide to get divorced."

"Of course, sweetheart."

As if he'd ever let her leave.

"And then just the agreement not to cause harm to each other. It's just for the safety of the family, since in the past...well, let's just say assassination attempts by spouses haven't exactly been uncommon."

"I understand," Klaus said lightly, reading the text quickly to ensure that it was what he'd read the night before and then adding his signature. He'd revised it slightly from the original wording to center on  _ unwanted  _ harm--perhaps it was the optimist in him--but she appeared to either not have noticed or missed the implication. It was all well and good anyway, he had no desire to hurt Caroline (unless, of course, she asked for it very nicely with his title on her lips), but keeping her comfortable was important if he wanted her to stay. "Anything else?"

"Not contract-related, but we need to talk about a few other things."

"Anything you like."

"Great! So, Pearl Zhu and her daughter Anna do most of the high-end weddings here," she began, her fingers twitching as though she was itching to write something down. "I'm thinking February? We need to do it before April, and--”

“February’s perfect, love,” Klaus said quickly, not wanting to have to navigate possible tears about Bill’s looming death. He wasn’t sure how close they were, but as much as Bill’s old-fashioned attitude towards arranged marriages benefited him, he couldn’t imagine being close to someone who wrote him off like chattel without his permission. Then again, he’d noticed that Caroline was rather sentimental. She cared deeply for the people she loved, was loyal to them until the end, and he couldn’t say that it wasn’t part of what attracted him to her. Her devotion to him would be a useful weapon once he managed to make her fall for him.

“Great!” she said, clearly pleased that she hadn’t had to get into the specifics of why she’d chosen the date. “So, I’m not sure if there's anything you feel strongly about, but if there isn't I'm just sort of going to give them some themes and colors and let them do their thing with a check-in nearer to the date. I'm really busy with my job, and I know you are too with the Ministry’s project order."

He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that she had sources who would know about his current assignment, but he wasn’t happy that  _ his  _ sources had failed to report her connections. Aiden would have to answer for that later. "I have no real wedding preferences, I suppose. Out of curiosity, love, how did you know about the project? It’s supposed to be confidential."

She flashed a smile at him that seemed more genuine than any other expression she'd made so far. "It's my job to know!"

"I suppose that's true," he allowed. He'd have to try to ferret out what other information she had about him that she wasn't supposed to know about. He knew everything he could find about her, of course, but knowledge was power, and Caroline was resourceful, excellent at wielding whatever advantages she might have.

He signed the rest of the paperwork and handed her back her quill, pushing the sleeves of his henley up to his elbows and leaning forward, grinning when her eyes followed the way his necklaces dangled in front of him. "Now, what are your plans for the rest of your day?"

She sighed. "I just have a bit of work to do. Nothing huge, but since I convinced my dad to let me take the reins on most of the projects I've been kind of swamped."

"Hence allowing someone who isn't you to plan the biggest party you'll ever throw?" he teased, and she laughed.

"Yeah. Unfortunately. I was really looking forward to bullying you over napkin colors and cake flavors, but I guess you've been saved by my very needy employees."

He raised his eyebrows, smirking. "Bullying me, specifically, love? I'm flattered."

"Whoever my husband ended up being," she corrected, rolling her eyes. "So, ultimately you, yeah."

He pressed his lips together, sensing the bitterness she likely hadn't meant to convey, and he stared at her for a moment as she shifted uncomfortably in the silence. "What?" she asked finally.

"Are you unhappy that I'm your choice?" Klaus asked lightly, somehow desperately wanting to know the answer even though he'd watched her sign her soul to him just moments before.

She gave him a small smile. "It wasn't a choice for me, Klaus. But I wouldn't say I'm  _ un _ happy."

"I'm sorry," he said, the words feeling foreign on his lips. He wasn't, really. Not for wanting to marry her or for managing to get Bill to offer her hand. He didn't want her to resent him for it, though. He wanted Caroline to radiate that warmth for him that he'd found so intoxicating years ago. He wanted her to smile at him the way he'd always imagined, for her to lay her head on his chest and look at him with affectionate eyes the way he saw her do to her teenage boyfriends in the common rooms while they gave her so much less attention than she deserved. He wanted her to come to him, to be happy that she belonged to him. "I do want you to be happy, Caroline. With me."

"Me too. And I want you to be happy with me. You know, since we're stuck together."

He could tell she'd meant it to come out as a joke, but it fell flat. He reached out to set his hand on hers, brushing his thumb over her knuckle, catching her eyes in a heated gaze with his and smiling slightly when he heard her breath catch, noticing a shiver run down her spine that he suspected had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the way he was looking at her. "It will be no sacrifice to take you as my wife, Caroline."

He heard her audible swallow, and she glanced down at their joined hands as though just realizing that he was touching her, but she didn't pull away even though she looked like she might want to. He could see that she was having a hundred thoughts a second, clearly going through every possible response and trying to find the right thing to say. "You're not so bad yourself," she settled on after a few moments.

"I'm glad you think so," Klaus said with a dimpled smile, bringing her knuckles up to his mouth and brushing his lips over them, soaking in the scoff that Caroline gave when she wrenched her hand away.

"God, you're as ridiculous as I remember. Probably worse."

"Perhaps after your father oversees the vow you can tell me how much more you remember about me over lunch?" he offered with a smirk. "I took the whole day off."

“I remembered your crazy ego too,” she said, rolling her eyes before looking at the stack of papers next to her, which he suspected must be more work. She seemed to be seriously considering it. "I really shouldn't," she said slowly, looking torn. "Maybe a quick one?"

"It's a date."

"Great," she said, not giving any indication if she found his designation awkward. "Are you ready? I’ll just go put my stuff away and then we can get the vow done. After that, I should be good for lunch.”

"Perfect," he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

He could be patient, he decided. He'd craved for years to know for certain that Caroline belonged to him, and now that she had agreed to be his, had given him her hand and her future, it was only a matter of time before he'd have her heart as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Do you have a favorite part or line? Any predictions? Questions? Please comment below!! That's how I know you enjoy reading the fic, and it inspires me to write more! 
> 
> If you wish, you can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie.


	3. Angels Roll Their Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to honestgrins and klarolinedrabbles for beta work. I hope you guys enjoy!!

"You look lovely, by the way."

"Thanks," Caroline said, trying not to sound too annoyed with him. She felt the burn of his palm at the small of her back when he gently pressed it against her to lead her down the front path of the house, his arm curling to settle around her waist after they'd reached the gates so that he could apparate them. 

"I know a good place on a side street by Diagon Alley," Klaus offered.

"Sounds fine," Caroline said with a weak smile, her heart thumping in her chest. It was so weird to be so close after so long apart, searching his face for tells as much as she could for what he was thinking or feeling. Klaus had never shown much emotion, even if she'd been able to read him better than most, and just the warmth in his eyes was unnerving, since she couldn't find the disingenuousness that she'd been sure was there. 

"Before we leave, I'd like to talk a bit about how this will work."

"Of course, love."

She turned to face him, fiddling with the cuff of her robe. "So, I don't know how much my dad told you, but the reason we have to get married quickly is because my cousin Camille wants to take over the company. Well, really her husband does. We can't let that happen."

"Right."

"So, here's the thing. Everyone could tell that my parents weren't in love, and that's why my mom could never use our political capital the way we needed her to. Everyone knew that she and my dad were going to get divorced. For this to work, people need to think you're a permanent fixture."

"Aren't I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, we both know you are," she said hurriedly. "But they won't, especially not after how we were in school."

"How  _ you _ were in school, you mean?" he asked, clearly amused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I never did anything to you, love. The aggression was all on your part. To this day, I still don't know what I did to attract your ire."

She rolled her eyes. As if he wasn't self-aware enough to know that he was a complete  _ psychopath _ .

"Not the point. The  _ point _ is that we need to make them believe that we're in love so that you can do what you need to do. Okay?"

"Understood," he said, his lips twisting in a smirk. "And how do you propose we do that, love?"

"Act like a couple, I guess? At least in public."

"We are a couple, sweetheart. Aren't we?"

She wanted to protest, but the words stuck in her throat before she could get them out. "I mean, we are, but not like,  _ for real. _ "

"And why not?"

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Because..." she trailed off, trying to come up with a reason that wasn't 'because you make my gut scream  _ run before you get eaten alive _ .'

"Because?" he prompted.

"This isn't a real marriage, Klaus. This is an arrangement."

"An arranged marriage."

"Right, but like, not with feelings, or anything."

"You mean to tell me that you don't intend to even try?" Klaus asked.

"Don't look so hurt about it. It's not like you're in this for me, anyway," Caroline said, scoffing. 

He frowned. "What d'you mean?"

She let out a sharp breath, closing her eyes for a second, trying to center herself. Why was he pretending that he wasn't marrying her for her fortune and influence? It's not like it had to be a secret. They could be honest with each other about it being a business arrangement, couldn't they? "Look, we just have to act like we're in love with each other enough for Camille to not have the capital she needs to snatch the family vault and put it into Damon's dirty paws."

"That will be no burden for me, I assure you."

She assessed him with narrowed eyes, her lips pressed together. His charm was starting to grate on her. She'd forgotten how smooth he could be, how easily he could make you feel like his attention was centered on you. She forced her shoulders to relax slightly, resolving herself to keep her guard up. She couldn't let him get under her skin, but she couldn't make him think she was scared of him, either. That would be a bad precedent to set. "Good. So, where did you want to go?"

"The Harpy's Nest. It's in the nicer area. Next to Parvati Patil's Atelier and the jewelry shop, and I know there's a Witch Weekly photographer that comes 'round at about this time of day for coffee across the way, so it's likely we'll make the news. We can pick up a ring while we're there, if you'd like."

Ugh, she'd forgotten about the ring. "Okay! Sounds good."

He offered her his arm, which she reluctantly took, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow. They had to play the part, she reminded herself, trying to ignore the clear lean muscle beneath her fingers through the thin cloth of the henley he was wearing.

That familiar hook of apparition pulled on her, followed by the horrible squeezing feeling before they appeared in front of the muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, landing solidly on their feet. She stiffened when he pressed his hand to the small of her back and reached to open the door for her, leading her through the building and ignoring the glances of the patrons.

She tucked herself against him instinctively when they passed what was clearly a drunk on a stool who looked her up and down in a way that made her stomach twist, and she saw Klaus shoot him a quelling look that made even her insides freeze before he squeezed her waist in what she assumed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. It felt easier to breathe when they entered the narrow back exit of the bar, and she began to pull away from him when he took his wand out to tap the bricks to reveal the alley. He let her, though his fingertips brushed her back as she pulled away in a way that made her shiver.

"It's just at the end," he said, gesturing towards the fountain at the very end of the cobblestone street where the sidestreets began to pop up to the smaller shopping squares.

"Okay," she said, glancing at him before slipping her hand into his, mostly to avoid him putting his arm around her waist again. That felt like too much too fast (and was  _ way  _ too comfortable). 

He'd been uncharacteristically soft with her so far, and it was rattling. She had to keep her guard up.

* * *

Caroline came home from work to find Klaus in the sitting room, lounging on her favorite chair as if he belonged there. Technically he did, she supposed. He'd wanted to move in later in the week, something about having plans and the inconvenience of the timing, but it hadn't worked out. Though she would have been excited to postpone Klaus moving in as long as she possibly could in any other situation, he could only be keyed to the secret room in the library by the warder who had constructed the spells on the entrance, and unfortunately the warder in question had picked a very inconvenient time to start his sabbatical, making that day the only day he was available for the next two months. It still felt out of place to see him among all of her things, though, even if she had expected it. "Hey," she greeted, shrugging off her robe and setting down her purse. "How did moving go?"

"Well, thank you. Jenna was quite the help with finding everything."

"Great."

"I've taken the liberty of unpacking my belongings in the bedroom she directed me to, but should you have any objections, I would be happy to move anything you like."

"How about moving yourself to your own bedroom?" Caroline said dryly.

"Oh, don't be mad, Caroline. He took as little of the closet as possible," Jenna said cheerfully, walking through the living room with a basket of laundry that Caroline recognized as her father's. Klaus sent Caroline a raised eyebrow as if to point out that this was why they were sharing a bedroom, and Caroline knew that he was right. She loved Jenna, and though their maid was likely peripherally aware of the less savory parts of the Forbes' business portfolio, she'd done her best to have plausible deniability, something that Caroline and her father were all too fine with. If Jenna didn't know anything, she had no value to their enemies, and she also couldn't betray them.

For the same reason, it was best that Jenna thought that they were in love like everyone else, or at least in a peaceful arrangement. Her getting snippy with Klaus for doing what Jenna would perceive to be a perfectly normal thing would not help that.

"I was just kidding," Caroline said quickly with a smile, walking over to Klaus and sitting on the couch beside him, kissing him on the cheek and snuggling against his side when he lifted his arm. Jenna seemed to believe her, sending her a wink.

"Don't worry. I understand. Closet space is valuable real estate with Ric and I, too," Jenna said with a commiserating nod. "I have to bring these to your father. Do you know if he's in?"

"No. I just got home. Is he doing okay today?"

Bill's condition had been deteriorating at a higher rate than she and the doctors had expected. He’d been having regular check-ups for the two months since he’d been out of the hospital, and Healer Gilbert maintained that he had up to a year, though he’d sympathetically reminded Caroline in private after the last visit that “up to” a year didn’t necessarily mean that he’d last that long. She'd watched her father begin to rely more on a walker, and he'd begun to take a set of complicated potions every morning that she had to brew herself to ease his paranoia. Her father was barely in his sixties, much too young to look so frail.

Jenna seemed to follow her train of thought, giving her a sympathetic smile. "He was good this morning. He even came downstairs for breakfast after you left."

"Good."

"He wanted to talk to you about the wedding, actually. Both of you."

"Oh, goodie," Caroline mumbled under her breath, disentangling herself from Klaus and standing up. "I'll take the laundry to him, then, since I'm going anyway."

She and Klaus walked to her father's wing of the mansion in silence, though she could feel him looking at her as he followed her. Bill let Klaus into the office, and Caroline excused herself to drop off the laundry before walking back inside, seeing Bill in the armchair in the corner and Klaus settled on the couch, leaving her no choice but to sit beside him.

"Did you get moved in all right?" Bill asked, stirring cream into what was hopefully decaf.

"Yes, thank you. Caroline and your staff have made it a very easy process."

"Good, good," Bill said with a grin, setting the spoon aside and taking a sip of his coffee, settling back in his chair. "I have some documents with an overview of our business for you to take a look at, Klaus. Caroline, would you mind?"

She tried her best not to look annoyed as she got up and pulled it from the bookshelf, knowing exactly which one he was talking about. She handed it to Klaus and settled herself beside him again, watching as he opened it and scanned the first few pages.

"And this is everything?" Klaus asked, glancing up to look at Bill, who was leaning back in his chair, watching him closely.

"Yeah. For now," Caroline said from beside him, shooting her father a look that she hoped screamed 'I told you so'. "Unfortunately, some of the stuff to look at is family-only. Once we're...you know... _ married _ and stuff you'll be able to see more of it."

Klaus nodded, not arguing or asking for more information. That seemed suspicious. "Is that okay?" she asked slowly.

"For now."

They shared a charged glance, her eyes narrowed, scanning him for any hint of what he was thinking. His face remained frustratingly blank. Bill cleared his throat after a moment, and they both looked at him.

"So, as discussed, your job would be to go to the benefits and network. Caroline will continue to keep up with clients and suppliers, though you should of course spend time with them at functions if they're there. However, your job will mainly be to figure out the best charities to donate to and keep us on the good side of the public."

"At the start,” Klaus said. “I assume I'll be given a position at the company after the wedding? I was under the impression that I’d be involved in the day-to-day operations as well."

"If you want it," Caroline said after a sharp look from her father, reluctant to agree. "I'm sure there's a few things you can help with, but obviously the big decisions would all have to go through me."

"This is a partnership, sweetheart," he reminded, giving her a smile that was all teeth. It made her heart skip a beat, the distinct feeling of being prey to a dangerous predator coming back in a wave. She straightened her spine. She couldn't let him steamroll her.

"Yeah. It is. But it's  _ my _ company. I know you're used to being in charge and having a bunch of minions running around doing your bidding, but I've been training my whole life for this."

"I understand, love. I simply mean that you may find my counsel to be valuable."

She pressed her lips together, knowing he was right but not wanting to concede. "I probably will. I mean, that's why you're here. It's just...I'm Lady Forbes. It's my family's legacy."

"And I'll be a part of that," Klaus said smoothly, somehow staying calm and accommodating. "I want this to succeed as much as you do, sweetheart. That's why I'm here."

"Right," she said, giving him a small smile. "I know."

"Glad that's settled," Bill said from his desk, making Caroline flinch. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "Have you begun planning the wedding at all?"

"I sent Anna and Pearl an order under embargo a few days after we signed the contract," Caroline said, reaching for the coffee waiting on the table for her under a warming charm. "I told them that we were having it in mid-to-late February. I figure six months is long enough after we 'come out' as a couple that it'll seem believable, but soon enough that we have time to do some of the handover stuff after the honeymoon. Does that work?"

She was proud she managed to keep her voice from cracking at ‘handover’, because every inch of her wanted to burst into tears whenever she thought about it.

"You know that’s fine with me, sweetheart."

"And have you decided where you want to go for your honeymoon?"

"I mean, I don't think we really have to go anywhere. It's not like we're really going on a romantic getaway or anything."

"I have to take the time off or it'll look suspicious, so we might as well," Klaus said, leaning back against the couch with his fingers laced together in front of him. She suspected that if he was in any office other than Bill's his feet would be on the table. "Where would you like to go, love?"

She was kind of tempted to say something along the lines of 'away from you', but knew her dad would chide her for it, instead trying to think of something they could do that wouldn't involve her having to spend too much time alone with Klaus. "I don't know."

"I'll take you anywhere you like," Klaus said easily. "We don't even have to limit ourselves to one city."

"I'll think about it," she said, trying not to sound too cold. She was determined to keep Klaus from getting under her skin, but being too rude would damage their working relationship, and they needed to at least get along.

"Well, let me know your plans when you have them," Bill said cheerfully, either oblivious to the tension or ignoring it. "I'm happy to help you arrange anything you like."

"Sounds good," Caroline said with a forced smile.

Bill's lips thinned when he noticed her expression, his shoulders slumping. "Klaus, would you mind if I talked to my daughter alone?"

"Not at all," Klaus said, standing up, nodding at them both before leaving.

Bill leaned forward, looking older than Caroline had ever thought he could. "I know that you're not happy about this."

"I'm fine," Caroline deflected, trying to sound like she felt it.

"I know that Liz---that your mother and I had our differences," Bill began, and Caroline snorted.

"If you mean differences in that you only got married to have me and divorced her for Steven the second you could, then yeah, I guess."

Bill gave her a quelling look that made her feel like she was eight years old again, and she looked away, uncomfortable.

"I know," he repeated, "that we've had our differences. And I know that you and Klaus didn't get along at school. You might not know this, but I did get letters when you got detention, and I floo'd in for a parent-teacher conference every year. I was hoping that you'd be able to set your feelings aside."

"I'm trying," Caroline said, staring at her hands and trying not to sound bitter. Her father didn't need guilt about an arrangement she'd always known she'd have on top of all of the stress going on with the company.

"I know," Bill said, making her look up in surprise. "I can tell. And I appreciate it. All I was saying was that your mother and I weren't compatible for a lot of reasons, not just because of Steven. I don't want you to feel trapped the way she did."

"I already signed the contract. I'm trapped basically by definition."

"You're only as trapped as you let yourself feel, Caroline. Use the vacation and get to know him. Let him get to know you. Maybe you'll be surprised."

"Do you think I want to be unhappy? If I thought that I could fall in love with Klaus, I would try, okay? I want to give him a chance, but there's just no point. We're really different people and this is a marriage of convenience."

Bill nodded, looking like he'd known she was going to say something like that, and it broke her heart a little that he looked so resigned. "I don't want you to give him a chance, Caroline. I want you to give yourself one. To be happy."

"You think I could be happy with Klaus?" Caroline asked, dubious.

"If I hadn't thought that, I wouldn't have accepted the proposal."

"You say that like you did it for my own good."

"It was for the good of the family. And you're my family," Bill said firmly, his eyes flashing. "The only family I trust."

Caroline sighed. "I know, Dad. I promise that I won't let you down with the business."

"I never thought you would," Bill said with a small smile. "I know you're the best person for the job, Carebear."

"Don't call me that," Caroline complained. "I am twenty-five."

"So old," Bill teased, standing up, waving his wand to let the breathing machine follow him to the door. He'd been getting worse more quickly than she'd expected, and it made her sad. "Just promise me that you'll try to let yourself be happy with him. At least at the start. 

"You know me, dad. Optimistic is my middle name," she said, giving him her best thousand-watt smile, which faltered at the sad look on his face. The perfect guilt trip. "I'll try," she promised. "Don't worry about me."

"I always will, sweetie. That's my job."

* * *

Well, this wouldn't do at all.

He poured himself a bourbon from the tray on his desk when he arrived at the home office in his old house and sank down in his chair, swirling the liquid in its glass and staring at it darkly. Aiden had scampered after him when he arrived, taking the outer robes he threw to hang them up and gathering any information or messages he’d missed while he was gone. Klaus could only half-listen to Aiden information, finally dismissing him to guard the door with a wave of his hand and muttering that they’d pick up where they left off later. 

He wasn't  _ brooding _ , really. Just....thinking.

Caroline clearly thought that he was only making this arrangement for her money and influence. It was a fair assumption, he had to admit. However, he didn't like that she seemed so set on keeping the arrangement to business. Perhaps it was because of the way she grew up, how her parents clearly were separated from the moment they married, but she didn't seem to have given a thought to the possibility that he might want  _ her _ .

Well, he'd have to change that, wouldn't he?

If Caroline was so determined to explain away his attentions as enthusiasm for the power she held, he'd have to do everything possible to convince her that she was the most important piece of the bargain he'd made with her father. He'd have to avoid that phrase, however. He doubted Caroline would take kindly to any insinuation that she was a poker chip and not a player.

Not that he thought of her that way, of course. 

He sighed, sipping from his glass as he considered his options. It was obvious that she was attracted to him, at least. The flush in her cheeks when he'd touched her had told him that much. Perhaps he could capitalize on that. Lure her in physically. She had never been one for pretty words, had always seen right through him, but perhaps she'd be tempted by her physical attraction.

That could be the key. Perhaps she'd be open to an arrangement purely for sex, and then once she'd walked through that door, convincing her to want him for more than that could come easily. He'd tempt her, make her fall apart for him and trust him with her body. She was the sentimental sort, and he had no doubt her heart would follow soon after.

But how to tempt her into it?

He couldn't come on too strong, of course. She was clearly uncomfortable with his touch, though he suspected it was because she liked it too much judging by her heart rate and how difficult it was for her to rein in her expressions. It wouldn't do to pressure her, but his Caroline was fiery and contrary. If she was so opposed, she'd certainly insist on keeping their distance.

It would help if Caroline believed that he trusted her. It was a mistake to push back on whether he would have a job waiting for him. Caroline already knew in her heart of hearts that he would move to working for the family company. He had been looking through the stolen and copied records from Bill's office for weeks now, and he already knew as much as their records could tell him. 

He'd been happy to find that their various files and documents were well-organized and relatively well-protected. Their apparition wards were good, but not good enough. He'd have to get them reinforced so that he could come and go as he pleased but to ensure that anyone who was even close to as powerful as him could be kept out. There was likely no living wizard who could match him, of course, but it didn't hurt to keep the security up to date. It wouldn’t do to have any unwelcome surprises. 

It would be difficult to keep himself from ordering her to comply with his demands. Working with others had never been his strong suit, but Caroline knew how to match him. He'd have to be careful not to be too obvious with his penchant for taking control. Luckily, once Bill was out of the picture, Caroline would need him to keep it running, even if she didn't want to admit it. She was clearly more than competent at her job, but no one could do both hers and Bill's by themselves. It just wasn't possible unless she didn't sleep and worked 24 hours a day. Still, he couldn't allow her to think that he was there to undermine her.

He was disturbed from his thoughts by a sharp knock on the doorframe, and he looked up to see Marcel leaning against it, looking alarmingly serious. He entered at Klaus's wave.

"Marcel," Klaus greeted, nodding at the chair by his desk. "What brings you here today, mate?"

"You're engaged," Marcel said dryly, dropping the gossip section of the Prophet on his desk in front of him. "To Caroline Forbes."

"I am," Klaus agreed with a dimpled grin. "Finally."

Marcel was the closest thing to a friend Klaus had. They'd been sorted into Slytherin together, and Klaus had been comforted by Marcel's refusal to be intimidated by his magic, and he'd admired Marcel's easy-going attitude and resilience. They'd both come from broken families and considered Hogwarts their saving grace.

They didn't tell each other everything, but they didn't need to. Despite Klaus never admitting it outright, Marcel had known of his greed for Caroline, the way he'd obsessed over her silently throughout their last few years of school. It was slightly satisfying to know that there was at least someone who knew how long and hard he'd worked to have her.

Marcel sank into the chair Klaus indicated, his fingers steepled as they stared at each other. "Does she know?"

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Know what?"

"Your plans."

Klaus pressed his lips together, glancing at Aiden, who was hovering just outside the door, a clear warning to Marcel to hold his tongue for the time being. Marcel gave an infinitesimal shake of his head, and Klaus had to resist the urge to sigh. "Aiden, leave us. Close the door."

He waited until Aiden had shut the door behind him before waving his hand to cast a spell to keep their conversation private. Marcel was familiar enough with his wandless magic that he just looked impatient. "She does not," Klaus said simply. "Not yet."

"So you'll tell her?"

"Eventually," Klaus said with a nod, waving a few glasses and a bottle of brandy out of the cabinet by the door, pouring one for each of them but leaving the brandy on the desk in case they wanted more. "She doesn't trust me yet."

"But you'll tell her once she does?"

"I'm planning to, yes."

"And what if she's never ready? You know that arranged marriages typically don't involve actual feelings, right?" Marcel probed gently.

"I'm confident I can make her see sense. I've never had difficulties before, after all."

"Well, pro tip: the arrogance won't get you anywhere with her."

"Thank you for the advice, Marcellus. Was that all?"

"No," Marcel said, picking up the glass of brandy and taking a sip before setting it down, clearly trying to figure out how to phrase whatever he was about to say. "I think we have a traitor."

Klaus's eyebrows rose. He hadn't expected that to be Marcel's message. "Do we?"

"I think he's been feeding information to the de Martels. Likely for money. The family's loaded and not happy about you leaving Aurora for a blood traitor."

"I suppose it's a good thing it doesn't matter what they think. What sort of information is our little spy giving out?"

"Information about what you're looking for. The de Martels have connections to a lot of the magical libraries and bookshops, and there are only twenty copies of that book in existence anyway."

"And five of them are lost. I'm well aware," Klaus said slowly, swirling the brandy in the glass, watching the golden liquid as it hugged the walls and sparkled in the light. "Who is it?"

"I think it's Logan Fell. Can't be sure until we get some answers."

"Not a problem," Klaus said, already getting up from his chair. "I've been saving some veritaserum for a rainy day."

"You want to go now?"

"Every moment we wait is time he could use to betray us more," Klaus pointed out, pulling on his outer robe and grabbing the fake wand he used so that people didn't know that he could do wandless magic. "I'll take care of it. Coming? Or would you rather stay?"

"I'll hold down the fort," Marcel promised, already sinking down into the chair behind Klaus's desk. 

"We have updates coming in on the project in Edinburgh in a few hours."

"I already know that. I'm the best right hand man in the world," Marcel promised with a wink. "Don't forget to burn the body."

Klaus rolled his eyes, not bothering to shut the door behind him as he strode out, intending to grab the bottle of veritaserum he kept in a warded cabinet in the warded room next to his sitting room, stopping in his tracks when he saw Caroline looking particularly irritated, clearly in a heated argument with Aiden.

"I told you, I'm his fiancé. I need to talk to him."

"Klaus didn't put you on the list," Aiden insisted, though he at least had the sense to look scared of her.

"She's on the list now," Klaus interrupted firmly, walking to Caroline and moving to slide his arm around her. She allowed him to press a light kiss to her temple under the guise of keeping up their relationship. He wasn't one to turn down an opportunity to get closer. She smelled heavenly. "What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

"Just some wedding stuff. I need you to send your measurements to Parvati Patil's studio so that she can make the suit and your robes."

He resisted the urge to ask why she didn't just send an owl when he saw her shoot a significant look at Aiden before turning back to him. "Let me show you to my study," he offered, pressing his palm to the small of her back and guiding her down the hallway. 

"Shouldn't we tell your security guard not to bother us?"

"Aiden knows better, love," Klaus assured her, gesturing for her to enter before him and following her inside. "Marcellus, we have a guest."

"Caroline," he greeted with a nod, getting up and shaking her hand warmly. 

Caroline glanced at Klaus before turning back to Marcel. "Hi.”

"I'll take off now," Marcel said with a nod at Klaus. He twirled his wand between his fingers before sticking it in the pocket of his robe. "Since you're tied up here, do you want me to take care of it?"

Klaus nodded. "If you don't mind," he said, making an effort to at least seem polite in front of Caroline. He doubted that she'd respond well to him barking orders at someone who was supposed to be his friend.

"Not at all."

"Thanks, mate."

"It was nice to see you again, Caroline," Marcel said with a flash of white teeth. "It's been awhile."

"You too," she said with a smile, moving to let him past her before turning to Klaus. "Um, take care of what?"

"Just looking into something for me," Klaus said, brushing her off. He realized it was a mistake when her brows knitted together, her teeth worrying her lower lip. "Really, love. It's not anything serious. Just for work."

He wasn't particularly interested in giving Caroline the rundown on the intricacies of his own illegal enterprise when they were so early on in their relationship. Best wait until she was at least comfortable with him before revealing his hobbies. It wasn't that he thought that she would object--her hands weren't exactly clean, either--but it would put her on guard and make her think that he was trying to unite their businesses, and that wasn't his intent at all.

If he wanted to be able to amass his followers and create the army he needed, Caroline's assistance would be key, especially once she figured out that he was after more than simply money and deference from people whose opinions he didn't care about. It was only a matter of time before she put all the pieces together, and he had to ensure that by the time she did, she wanted to be his queen as much as he wanted the kingdom to rule.

"Okay," she said slowly, still clearly dubious. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that there's an event I have to go to next week. It's just a gala, so the usual sort of thing you'll be doing. Do you want to come as my plus-one?"

"I'd be honored, love."

"Great," she said, launching into an explanation of the time and place. He found himself unable to pay attention, too fascinated by her lips as she spoke. He had to resist the urge to trace them with his thumb, to pull her close. 

“I’ll be there,” he promised, taking note of the time and date on a nearby piece of parchment.

“Sounds good,” she said, already adjusting her purse on her shoulder and giving him a quick but polite goodbye before hurrying out, throwing an irritated glance over her shoulder when he reminded her that he’d see her that night, making him grin.

He'd originally hoped to put off the move-in until after the moon so that he wouldn't have to suffer through his wolf's craving for her the first night she slept beside him, but her silly warder's schedule had intervened. If he'd been able to tell her he could apparate through any wards the idiot constructed around a secret room anyway, he would have, but that wasn't information he could give away lightly.

A part of him, however, was glad that he didn't have to wait. Caroline would look lovely in the moonlight beside him, her hair spread across the pillows. He'd have to make sure to unpack his sketchbook. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought! Did you have a favorite part or line? Any predictions? Comments are the only way I know if you liked the story, and they give me inspiration to continue writing it!


	4. Keep Secrets Just to Keep You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Morgan and Steph for beta work and to Melissa for teaching me how to curl my hair that one time.

**Chapter III: Keep Secrets Just to Keep You**

When Caroline had gone to bed the night before, she hadn't really thought about what would happen when she woke up. Sleeping in the same bed with someone was weirdly intimate, and she hadn’t done it in a long time. She preferred to leave one-night-stands as soon as the sex was over so that she wouldn’t get trapped by weird questions, and because she’d learned that she was an accidental snuggler.

She got cold, okay?

Despite knowing that Klaus was not a nice person, or even like, an  _ okay  _ person, she knew that all her dumb instincts would detect was a source of warmth. He'd signed the safety part of the agreement without comment, so he couldn’t exactly stab her for sticking her ice-cold feet on his thigh, but that didn’t mean he was going to be nice about it.

She was annoyed but not surprised when she woke with her face pressed against his chest. Her arm was slung over his waist, her leg hooked around his thigh, and she was honestly a little surprised about how comfortable it was, and that he wasn’t awake either, so he probably didn’t mind.

She was so comfortable. He was breathing slowly, the puff of air against her temple somehow reassuring, and his grip tightened around her when she shifted against him as though he didn't want to let her go.

Still, she tried to disentangle herself as casually as she could, hoping that he was still asleep. Morning cuddling would not convey the "don't fuck with me" vibe that she was going for. Klaus, however, tightened the arm he had around her waist, mumbling something under his breath and burying his nose in her curls.

"Klaus?" she whispered, poking him in the chest a few times. His eyes opened slowly, and it seemed to take him a moment before he realized where he was and what was happening.

"Morning," he grunted, not loosening his hold on her at all.

"I have to get up for work," she said, gently pushing him away. This time he let her go, rolling to lie on his back and rubbing his face with his palm. "I'm going to take a shower unless you need it now."

"Not at all," he said, waving her off in a way that she tried not to take as dismissive, and she slipped out of bed, gathering her clothes for the day from her side of the closet before entering the bathroom.

When she came out, she saw Klaus with his shirt unbuttoned and his slacks on reading the Daily Prophet. She stopped for a second to admire him, hoping that he wouldn't notice, before reaching for her outer robe that she'd hung on the door. "What time do you get back from the office today?"

"Around six, most likely. Why?"

"I think we should go out again. I'm not sure that people will buy that we're together for more than an arrangement."

He turned to her, smirking. "You want to go on a date with me, love?"

She huffed. "I don't  _ want  _ to. I just think it would be a good time, since I have kind of a light workday."

His lips twitched as though he didn't believe her, but he didn't respond to her barb, simply folding up the paper and letting it lie beside him on the mattress. "Ordinarily I would enjoy nothing more, but unfortunately I have plans tonight."

"You can turn off the charm, you know," Caroline said, gathering her hair into a ponytail and glancing in the mirror to make sure she'd smoothed out all of the lumps. "What are your plans?"

"Just gathering some potions ingredients for work. They need to be picked at night."

"Okay," Caroline said slowly, unable to shake the suspicion that he was lying to her. "Well, then I hope you have a good day, I guess."

"And you as well, love," Klaus said as he buttoned up his shirt with nimble fingers, looking her up and down as he adjusted the cuffs. "Don't wait up, all right? I'll be back rather late."

Caroline was surprised at the pang of disappointment in her chest at the brush-off, though she tried to fight it off. Why should she be hurt when it was a fake marriage? Klaus had no reason to open up to her. She certainly hadn't to him.

His sole job was to keep the family in the public's good graces and occasionally take care of some of the messier hits. She needed to remember that even though they were sleeping in the same bed to prevent gossip, they weren't friends or lovers. This was a business arrangement.

* * *

"Do you know what time we'll get back from the party?" Caroline asked, her eyes glued to her reflection as she wound a strand of her hair around her wand to curl it, waiting for a few moments before letting the curl fall. She could feel Klaus's eyes on her as she methodically went through each section of hair, and she repeated the question again impatiently, finally snapping him out of his daze when she stopped moving.

"Not sure," he said, busying himself with straightening his already-straight cufflinks as though he hadn't just been staring at her like a creep. He was still sneaking glances at her as she continued primping, apparently fascinated by her completely ordinary routine. "We can likely make excuses around ten o'clock or so. Say you have an early morning meeting."

"I do have an early morning meeting," she said. She knew that going to a few events as a couple was important and that with her schedule there was never really a "good" time to do it, but that didn't mean that she wanted to. Knowing that this would be the first time they'd be accessible to people other than the few dates they'd done for show was making her nervous. What if people figured it out?

"Well, I'm sure we'll be back in time for you to get plenty of beauty rest," he said dryly, nodding at the veritable mountain of products stacked on her vanity.

Caroline huffed, letting her last curl fall and combing her fingers through her hair to tousle her hair attractively before picking up a mauve lip pencil, leaning forward to get a better view as she began to use it to line her lips, going slowly than she normally would just to annoy him more. Predictably he frowned after a few seconds, checking his goblin-made watch for what felt like the hundredth time in ten minutes. "Can't you use magic for that? Our portkey leaves quite soon."

"No, I can't," she said, forcing her tone to remain patient. Ugh. Men. "You know that I can't leave looking less than perfect. Everyone will gossip about me, and that's the last thing we need when I'm bringing you along for the first time."

"All right, then. How much longer do you think you'll need?"

She shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Almost six. Our portkey will leave at 6:30."

"Okay. I'll try to finish up," Caroline promised, watching out of the corner of her eye as Klaus sank down on the bed, looking bored. It was still uncomfortable to have him in her space, though she had to remind herself it was  _ theirs  _ now.

"Okay, all done," she finally said, standing up and inspecting herself one last time before turning to go to the closet. "Turn around so I can put on my gown."

He obeyed without comment, though she had a feeling that he'd wanted to make one, likely something walking the line of lewdness with innocent eyes that he could use to deny her accusations of him being legitimately disgusting. The silk clung to her curves as she pulled it up and arranged the off-the-shoulder collar, looking at it in the mirror to make sure that there were no stains or lint. "Can you zip me up?"

She could see his eyes darken when he looked at her as he approached the mirror, his gaze raking up and down her body. He made eye contact with her as he dragged her zipper up, moving so slowly that she felt a light brush of his knuckles against her spine that made her skin stand on end. "You look ravishing, sweetheart," he whispered, his breath hot on her ear.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile that somehow didn't feel forced and gesturing for him to follow her.

Her heart was pounding in nervous anticipation. She had been stressing for the whole week about how she and Klaus could possibly act like a couple when they'd barely even interacted since they were seventeen other than a couple of dates over the past few weeks. Arranged marriages had been founded on less, but it was still nerve-wracking, especially since she was such a perfectionist. Everyone had to think that they were in love for Klaus to be able to wield the influence of the Forbes name the way he wanted to. The way she needed him to.

Caroline swallowed when she saw the golden hoop lying innocently on the counter waiting to transport them to the party, her breathing shaky. "So," she said softly, reaching to tuck her hand into the crook of his elbow. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. If anything, he leaned into her touch. "I was hoping we could talk. It's important."

"Now?" Klaus asked, his eyebrows raised. "We have barely ten minutes before our portkey."

Caroline sighed. "I know. But...I just wanted to double check a few things, because the dates have been in public and stuff, but this is different. Like, we'll have to talk to people and be near each other the  _ entire time _ , and-"

"Caroline," he interrupted, an infuriating smirk growing on his face, though it was slow enough that she suspected he was trying to suppress it. "As I've said, love. It's no hardship for me to pretend to adore you. They'll eat it up."

She felt heat building in her cheeks and cleared her throat quickly. "Are you saying you're a good liar? Should I watch out?" Caroline asked, trying her best to keep her tone teasing and distract from the way her heart had skipped a beat at the warmth in his words. She already knew he was a fantastic liar. He could play everyone around him easily, had spent all of their time at Hogwarts controlling the school with an iron fist and a charming smile. 

"Would you be marrying me if I wasn't?"

She raised her eyebrows, surprised at how bitterly he'd said it, and he seemed to realize it too. Klaus wasn't often forthright with his emotions, at least in her experience, and the window into his thoughts was strange. Why was he so upset? Did he not want to marry her? 

"The only thing we'll have to worry about is Aurora," he said. "She has a way of making everything about her, and depending on whether she feels slighted by how quickly I've moved on, she could be a problem."

That was a weird change of subject. Was that it? Had he cared about Aurora after all and felt like he couldn't turn down Bill's offer?

"You think?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. Aurora often came to functions, and she was the sort of person who would turn up more just to be a nuisance if she felt slighted.

"Have you  _ met  _ Aurora?"

"We haven’t talked lately. We don't really run in the same circles," Caroline said delicately, trying not to say what they both knew.

Aurora was old money, the kind that had the Malfoys 'round for tea and cared too much about Caroline’s mother’s pedigree and the fact that her father now had a muggle partner. Aurora wasn't exactly polite to her, but she also wasn't stupid enough to make an enemy of the Forbes family. Still, they were solidly  _ not  _ on good terms.

Honestly, Caroline still couldn’t quite believe that the de Martels had allowed Aurora to date someone with non-magical family like Klaus. Aurora wasn’t stupid though, and she had probably recognized that he would be a powerful ally.

"Of course," Klaus said, at least having the decency to pretend to look a bit ashamed of himself. "My apologies."

She would have been impressed at how genuine he sounded if she hadn't gone to school with his lying ass for years. "Yeah, okay."

Klaus seemed to want to say something else but thought better of it when the hoop began to vibrate, indicating that it would disappear in the next thirty seconds. He looked at her with a small smile, briefly laying his palm gently over her hand where she’d taken his arm. "As I said, love. It's no hardship to let the rest of the world know that you're mine."

"I'm not yours," she said quietly.

Not if she could help it, anyway. She’d promised herself that her marriage with Klaus would stay purely transactional. She couldn’t let him suck her in, because he’d only break her heart. He didn’t care about other people, and she wasn’t about to let Klaus have that kind of power over her.

"Not yet," he murmured, soft enough that she almost thought she'd imagined it.

They were interrupted before she could say anything by the telltale jerk of the portkey before they landed in the lobby of a large mansion. The hoop was whisked away by a butler who also took their outer robes to the coat check and motioned for them to join everyone else in a large ballroom.

Klaus slid his arm around her waist and tugged her so that she was nestled against his side, raising his eyebrows at her exasperated glance. "You said we had to sell it, love."

She resisted the urge to growl. Yeah, she hadn't meant that she wanted him to smush her face into his shoulder. He smelled good. It was annoying.

Elves were walking around with trays of appetizers as people in dress robes, suits, or cocktail dresses mingled and laughed. She could see a dance floor in the middle of the crowd where a few couples were moving to the beat of the music the small orchestra was providing.

Caroline turned when someone called her name to see her sort-of-friend Gia, who she'd gone to a conference with about the latest trends in potions ingredients, heading over to them. "Caroline! It's so good to see you!" Gia said excitedly, giving Caroline a warm hug before turning to Klaus. "And you must be Klaus, right? Caroline told me you'd be her plus-one."

"I am," Klaus said with a dimpled smile, his hand sliding around her waist to rest on her hip. "I'm happy to meet you. You're Gia, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good to meet you, love. Caroline speaks highly of you; I've heard nothing but good things."

It was a lie. Caroline had told him exactly zero things about Gia. She was surprised that he even knew who she was. Gia seemed flattered though, blushing prettily and giving him a small smile. "Thanks! I'm happy to finally meet you. I heard that Caroline was  _ finally _ seeing someone, but I didn't know it was you! You were in her house at Hogwarts, right?"

Caroline tried not to bristle at the light jab about how long it had taken her to start dating (privately feeling a bit pathetic that she hadn't even done anything; Klaus had just sort of appeared out of thin air for the status), instead answering Gia's question and letting her lead them into small talk about Hogwarts and what Klaus had been up to since he'd graduated.

"Do you want a drink, sweetheart?" Klaus asked during a lull in conversation.

"Yeah, that would be great!"

"What a gentleman," Gia said as soon as Klaus was out of earshot, giving Caroline a playful bump with her shoulder. "I can't believe you landed  _ Klaus Mikaelson _ . You know that all the girls were obsessed with him, right?"

"Why can't you believe it?" Caroline asked, careful to keep her tone teasing, but slightly annoyed at the implication.

Gia seemed to realize her misstep, giving Caroline a rueful smile. "Oh, I just meant that I was surprised he was ready to have a committed relationship. I know he was dating that girl whose dad was the CEO of Cleansweep, but I heard through the grapevine that they weren't close at all. Apparently the relationship was mostly, you know..." Gia trailed off, looking around quickly before she leaned in, as though giving up a scandalous secret. " _ Physical _ ."

Caroline resisted the urge to ask  _ so what if it was _ , knowing that it would look weird as Klaus's girlfriend to be so publicly comfortable saying something like that out loud. She tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't make it sound like Klaus had been cheating emotionally or that she'd been pining away for him for years, finally settling on, "Well, we were together in secret a long time ago, but we had to separate. Things just sort of fell into place a few months ago."

"That's so sweet!" Gia said, her eyes sparkling, probably filing the information away to gossip about later. "You must like him a lot to go through that separation and then get together again."

"I always tell her that I'd have waited even longer," Klaus said from next to them, handing Caroline a glass of champagne and pressing a kiss to her temple, giving her an affectionate look that looked so genuine it almost made her mad. He was  _ so  _ good at this. If she didn't know that it was just an arrangement she'd have believed him herself, would think that the way he looked at her, almost like he wanted nothing more than to  _ consume  _ her, wasn't manufactured at all.

Klaus snuck glances at her as they chatted with Gia, the picture of a boyfriend who couldn't keep his eyes or mind off of her. He made excuses after a minute or two, leading Caroline over to an empty space by the dance floor. It was so weird to see all the couples around them, laughing and joking, and feel so out of place. Just a month ago she would have come to the fundraiser by herself and flitted around, networking and introducing herself to everyone and catching up before she came back to her house, completely drained and still with piles of work to do. Klaus was there to share that burden now, but she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with him doing it, even if she knew from her time with him at school and their occasional run-ins afterward that he was more than capable. He'd always been too focused not to be considered so. But he'd also had a huge lack of empathy and was a bit of a sadist, and she'd never for one moment considered that she could be happy in a marriage with him.

And yet, here he was, being the perfect date acting like he wanted nothing in the world more than her.

She couldn't risk letting her emotions get involved. Klaus was the last person she wanted to hold her heart. He was dangerous and unpredictable, and she couldn't allow him to have that kind of power over her, no matter how desperately she wanted  _ someone  _ to connect with. It was hard to accept that she'd never have the luxury of a partner who saw her as anything more than a checkbook and a strategic ally. Klaus was charming and could pretend to be a loving husband in public flawlessly until he was six feet under, but she could never let him close for anything that wasn't a business decision or a strategic move.

Was she destined to be alone for the rest of her life? She could always find a lover, of course. A lot of people in arranged marriages did that, but who would want to be with her when she could never give them all of herself? Who would want all of her, anyway?

Now, she'd never find out, now that she’d signed her future over to  _ him _ .

It hadn't hit her until that moment how much she'd lost by gaining his allegiance.

"All right, love?"

Klaus was looking at her with thinly-veiled concern, his eyebrows knitted.

"I'm fine."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I'm sure," she said with as bright a smile as she could manage, raising her glass to clink it with him. "To us."

He nodded in response, touching her glass with his, his eyes never leaving hers as they both drank. The moment her glass was drained he gently took it from her, setting both glasses to the side before reaching for her hand. “Dance?” he offered.

She nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor.

Her lips parted slightly when his hand wandered down from resting chastely on her hip to a nearly scandalously low pressure on her lower back, his warm, calloused hand clasping hers. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his, her breath catching at how he was looking at her–like she was the most desirable person in the world.

He pulled her closer so that she was pressed against his chest, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. Whispers broke out around them, but Klaus ignored them, simply swaying with her, gazing at her so intently that she was sure that they looked like they were lost in their own little world, oblivious to everyone around them. She swallowed audibly when Klaus moved just a hair closer, his lips almost brushing hers when he spoke in a rasp so low that she almost didn’t hear it.

“May I?”

“Yes,” she breathed, tipping her head back slightly to let him catch her lips with his.

He groaned softly the moment they kissed, his hands solid at her hips to keep her pressed against his chest as she wound her arms around his neck. His tongue brushed against the seam of her mouth, coaxing an involuntary moan from her when she allowed him to deepen the kiss. She felt like she was on fire, every inch of her skin sensitive and hot, and she found herself aching for more of him when he finally withdrew, her lips chasing his when he pulled back.

She opened her eyes to meet his, her tongue darting over her lips when she saw the way his pupils were blown out, his lips slightly swollen.

She flushed at the gasps around them, resisting the urge to look at the gawking onlookers, though she couldn’t resist an eyeroll when she heard someone to their left whisper, “That’s so  _ romantic _ .”

Klaus quirked an eyebrow when he saw her reaction before giving her a dimpled grin and grabbing her hands. She was greedy for more of him, she realized as he pulled away to a respectable dancing distance, the heat of his body lost.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I couldn’t resist,” he murmured. The volume was low enough that it was believable that he’d meant the apology to be just for her ears, but she knew that he was playing the nearby couples who had their ears strained for gossip. She could almost believe that the look of affection she was shooting for was real, and it terrified her that someday she might fall under his spell.

“It’s okay,” Caroline said, her voice still slightly shaky, trying to add a teasing note when she continued. “You’re pretty irresistible yourself.”

She hoped that would stay a lie, that she'd never let him reel her in, but all she could think of were the words Klaus had muttered under his breath when they left, ones that felt like a promise.

_ Not yet. _

* * *

Klaus watched from across the room as Caroline laughed at something the man she was talking to said before raising her glass to her lips and taking a sip, her eyes warm. They'd been talking for a few minutes, and Klaus had found his temper growing as she continued to stay in the same conversation she'd been having for the last fifteen minutes. The point of the benefit was to show off their relationship before they announced their engagement, not to leave him by the appetizers to flirt with some plebeian.

He told himself that it wouldn't have bothered him if the man wasn't looking at her like he wanted to eat her, but he was self-aware enough to know that he would have been jealous no matter what. He didn't like how close he was standing to her, to his  _ fiancée _ , or how she was gently resting a hand on his forearm, either, giving him one of her bright smiles that he wanted to keep for himself. Klaus doubted the other man was saying anything that could be as funny as she was acting like it was.

She was looking at the man through her eyelashes now, her lips twisting in a small smile as he told some kind of story, nodding along and asking a few questions. He studied them, feeling his blood begin to boil, trying to keep his magic bundled under his skin lest he scare the simple partygoers around him. It would be best to leave before he lost control.

Hadn't Caroline said she had an early morning meeting, anyway? Perhaps she'd lost track of time.

Mind made up, he strode towards them, intending to rescue his fiancée from a conversation from which she likely wanted to escape. "Hey, mate. May I borrow my fiancée for a dance?"

"Of course," the man said quickly, backing up a step. He could likely feel the magic beginning to prickle in the air around them despite Klaus's attempts to suppress it, though he could admit to himself that he wasn't trying all that hard now that they were close. He wanted the man scared off from her.

"What are you doing?" Caroline hissed, letting him lead her to the dance floor and beginning to follow his lead, their steps perfectly in sync. "I was about to get him to give me his contact information. He's an antiques collector."

"Owl him later," Klaus whispered, bending close so that she could hear, with the added benefit that everyone around him would think that he was whispering in her ear. "Didn't you have a meeting, love?"

"Yeah, but he could be useful," she hissed, a smile frozen on her face. "He seemed like a good resource for our plans to expand to clients in eastern Europe. He seemed pretty interested in the company, too."

"Then he'll likely respond to an owl," Klaus said, leaning down to brush his lips against hers before straightening and nodding at the lobby, where butlers were waiting with assigned portkeys back to an apparition point. "Let me get your coat for you, love."

* * *

"Why are you being so weird? He was a potential contact," Caroline asked as soon as the portkey landed just outside of their wards on the front lawn and stomping towards the door, knowing Klaus would keep up.

"There are mountains of potential contacts, love. I don't understand why you're so set on him."

She brushed past him when he held the door open for her, letting her purse drop on the front table as she kicked off her heels, shooting him an exasperated look as he shed his robe. "Maybe I haven't been clear with you yet, Klaus, but I know what I'm doing when I track down vendors. This is my job."

"I know. I just don't understand why you had to keep talking to him. Get your contact information and move on to the next."

She kind of wanted to strangle him. She knew what she was doing. Couldn't he see that? What was his  _ problem _ ?

"Talking is part of making relationships."

"Yes, he certainly wouldn't have complained about having one of those with you, I'm sure."

Caroline felt herself freeze, her mind spinning, and it took everything inside of her not to laugh at the absurdity. "Are you  _ jealous _ ? Seriously?"

"The entire point was to make it clear to the press and the gossips that we're together. I hardly think making eyes at him would help our cause," he bit out.

"Oh my god, Klaus. It's not a big deal. Sure, he was flirting a little, but I don't think it was obvious enough to get press attention or anything. No one's going to know."

"I don't care if they know.  _ I _ know," he growled, loosening his tie. "I didn't like it. Seeing you with him."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't make it more than it is. We were just flirting a little. It's not like I made out with him in front of you," she said irritably, running her hand through her hair when she saw Klaus's unimpressed expression. "What? Why do you care?"

"Why wouldn't I care?" he shot back, following her into the kitchen and leaning against the counter while she pulled out two glasses, filling both with water and handing him one. He took it, setting it aside without drinking from it and giving her an exasperated glance. "You're my fiancée, Caroline."

"Yeah, your  _ fake _ fiancée," she pointed out. "I don't get why you're freaking out. It's not like you wouldn't do the same thing if you saw a cute girl."

He stared at her for a moment before pushing away from the counter, gently taking her glass from her and setting it aside before walking toward her, invading her personal space. "Oh, Caroline," he murmured, reaching to stroke her cheek with his index finger. She took in a sharp breath, leaning into his touch without even thinking about it, her eyelids fluttering. "You can't possibly think that's how this is going to work?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning. "We're going to be fake-married, emphasis on  _ fake _ . I expected you to want to not be celibate for the rest of your life. I definitely don't want to be."

His eyes flashed, his posture stiffening. "Haven't you been?"

"What? Celibate?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. She kind of wanted to lie and say that she hadn't just to see the look on his face, especially since she had a feeling that him kissing her in front of all those people and looking at her  _ like that _ was what her fantasies were going to be made of for the foreseeable future. She flushed, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. "I....yes. I have been. So far."

He leaned forward, his palm cupping her jaw to make her look at him, less gently than he had earlier. "Are you lying to me, Caroline?" he whispered.

"No."

"Be sure, love. I'll let go of the past if you confess, but if I find out you were lying I won't be as lenient," he said, his voice still low, tinged with an intensity that made her hackles rise, shouting ‘Danger!’ even as she felt the flush building in her cheeks and the skip of her heartbeat that seemed to come whenever he looked at her.

She licked her dry lips, wondering whether she should feel turned on by this, because she was. "I haven't, Klaus," she said. "Not since we signed the contract. I promise."

He stared at her, his eyes searching her face. She held her breath, terrified that he wouldn't believe her, but he seemed to relax a moment later, a small smile curling his lips. His hand stayed on her chin. "You're mine," he murmured. "The moment you offered yourself to me. No matter your intent, despite your expectation being that our marriage would be a farce, you became  _ mine _ . I have no intention of allowing anyone else into  _ our  _ bed. I should hope you feel the same."

" _ Our  _ bed?" she squeaked.

"Our bed," he echoed. "You can't have thought we'd sleep in separate rooms for the rest of our lives, ignoring each other unless we had to go out in public?"

She swallowed. That was exactly what she'd thought. She'd assumed that Klaus wouldn't want a real marriage, wouldn't want  _ her _ . She'd been under the assumption that they'd do what everyone did: sleep in the same bed until they had an heir or two and then peacefully split the manor between them. She'd thought that he'd sneak in a mistress every now and then while she pretended not to notice, that she'd have to find a lover who thought she was worth the trouble, one who would keep her secret and keep out of sight.

From the start, she'd figured that after she popped out two kids, her only companion would be her vibrator. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"Kind of. Yeah."

"You'll be my wife," he said when it became clear she wasn't sure what to say. His tone was firm, as though it should have been obvious. 

"I mean, yeah, but--"

She gasped when she felt her lower back hit the counter, not having realized that he'd been slowly cornering her in her–their–kitchen, his hands now moving to settle on her hips, burning through the silk of her gown. "Perhaps I was unclear from the start, but when I asked to marry you, I wanted all of you. Your mind, your sharp tongue, your loyalty...everything."

She swallowed. "Everything?" she asked softly. 

He smiled slightly. "Everything," he echoed. "Whether you come to me for sex will always be your choice, of course. I'm not a monster--"

She resisted the urge to snort in laughter. If her theories were correct, he definitely wasn't  _ not  _ a monster... 

"--But if you marry me, I will not allow you to go to anyone else. Not ever. Do you understand?"

Her first instinct was a hard nope to that. Klaus was dangerously charming, she knew that for sure now, and pretending to be in love with him could easily trick her heart into  _ really  _ being in love with him. That could get messy.

But what was she really losing by agreeing? She’d give him this win. For now.

“Yes.”

She felt like her feet were rooted to the ground, her entire body frozen. She'd told him the truth. She hadn't seen anyone since they'd signed the contract, but her mind was still reeling from the fact that he cared whether she had _. _ She could admit to herself that the idea of him touching someone else, letting someone else  _ touch him _ , made her sick to her stomach, but if someone who knew of the situation had asked her whether she thought  _ Klaus _ would be jealous, she'd have laughed in their face.

_ Klaus doesn't have feelings,  _ she would have told them.  _ He has obsessions, and I'm not one of them. _

Perhaps she'd been wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Do you have a favorite line or section? Any predictions? Please leave a review so that I get inspired to write more! It's the only way I know if there's interest in the story. I hope all of you are staying safe and well in quarantine, and I'll be back next Tuesday ;)


	5. Shape of Your Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Morgan and Steph for beta work.

Caroline stirred slowly, shielding her eyes from the sun shining through the window. She found herself colder than usual, and she groaned, reaching for Klaus's side of the bed and pouting when she found it empty. She'd gotten used to Klaus in bed with her since he'd moved into the house at the end of August, and she’d finally had to accept that she was going to bury her face in his chest and tangle her legs with his no matter how much she swore to herself as she went to bed that _this_ would be the night that she didn't accidentally cuddle. Now that it was approaching late October, it was starting to get colder, and Klaus tended to run hot enough that she'd compromised on keeping the magical warming charms on full blast, instead wearing thick sweaters and yoga pants most of the time, secretly smug that she'd caught him admiring her ass in the tight lycra more often than not. It was nice to feel wanted again after her long string of singledom and random one-night stands (usually with Muggles so that they wouldn't know who she was), and she had to admit that knowing how much Klaus wanted her made her feel powerful.

He'd gone out again the night before to get potions ingredients for work. Last time he'd done it, he'd returned about half an hour after sunrise. She'd already been up on the phone with someone from Hong Kong about their latest shipment of demiguise fingernails, and as soon as she saw him enter their bedroom she left to let him get some sleep, figuring that she might as well start her office work for the day. She hadn't heard him come home this time. If he'd arrived at the same time as the last he should have been sleeping, right? She hadn't heard the alarm go off.

Whatever.

She went down to the kitchen to get some orange juice, expecting Klaus to be at the table eating eggs, but he wasn't there either. She frowned.

"Jenna?" she called, poking her head into their front sitting room where she heard movement.

Jenna was waving her wand at the feather dusters dancing around the room. She stopped, turning to face Caroline and summoning the duster over so that it wouldn't knock things over if she lost concentration. "Hey, Caroline. What do you need?"

"Have you seen Klaus this morning?"

"Yes. I think he's in the guest bedroom. I saw him there when I went in to change the flowers this morning, so I didn't bother him."

Caroline frowned. Weird.

"The guest bedroom?"

Jenna nodded. "Sound asleep."

So much for insisting that they sleep in the same bed. "Do you know when he got in?"

"No. Sorry, Caroline."

"It's okay. I'll just take him breakfast. Is it ready?"

"Yes. Ric left a warming charm on it. It's on the stove."

"Thanks!"

She grabbed a few slices of bacon and some potatoes and toast from the spread Alaric had prepared, putting some strawberry jam in a small bowl, remembering that it was usually the one Klaus reached for in the mornings, before waving her wand so that it floated behind her as she made her way up the staircase to the guest bedroom in their wing of the house.

"Rise and shine," Caroline said, sinking down on the side of the bed and nudging Klaus's shoulder. "I have breakfast."

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said, his voice rough from sleep. Her mouth dropped open when he turned to face her. She'd never seen him look so tired. There were bags under his eyes, and she could have sworn that the thin scab on his chin was new, like he'd been scratched by something. He sat up against the headboard, running a hand through his hair. "What's the occasion?"

"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes wide. The sheet had fallen down to his waist and she could see a deep set of scratches on his stomach that had barely scabbed over, a few other random ones crossing his chest and shoulders. "What happened?"

"Fine, sweetheart," he said, holding out his hands. "Thank you for breakfast."

She handed him the tray, stealing a piece of bacon from his plate and taking a bite, still trying to square the Klaus that had left the day before, unharmed without any cuts or bruises that she could remember, with the roughed up version in front of her. "Why are you all torn up?" she repeated, not backing down when Klaus shot her an annoyed glance. She wasn't going to let him dance around it.

"I'm fine. Just tripped on the way into the forest. Other than that, I got all the ingredients I needed fairly easily. I dropped them off at the office before I came here," he said, stabbing a potato with his fork. "Is that all?"

"You _tripped_?" she repeated, her eyebrows raised. "Into what? A Hungarian Horntail?"

"How'd you guess?" he drawled.

"Klaus!"

"Caroline, I'm fine," he repeated, reaching to grab her hand. She stared down at it for a second, her eyes wide. It was the closest he'd gotten to casual affection since he'd moved in, and when she looked back at his face and saw the assessing way he was staring at her, she realized that it was probably calculated.

"If you say so," she said finally, looking him up and down.

"I do. You don't need to worry about me."

She swallowed, deciding to change the subject as he shoveled food in his mouth as though he hadn't eaten in days. "You slept in here."

His lips twitched. "I did."

"Is everything okay?"

"Did you miss me?" he teased, making her huff.

"No. It was actually nice to have the bed to myself again," she lied. "But you were so weird about it when we moved in that I figured you must have had something happen."

He shook his head. "I've never come home late when you were in bed before. Wasn't sure how light a sleeper you were and I didn't want to wake you in case you had a morning meeting."

She frowned, her mouth opening before she closed it again, not quite knowing what to say. Klaus being considerate? "Oh. Thanks."

"Of course."

"I'm not going to sleep through an alien invasion, or anything, but you won't wake me up just from getting in bed."

He nodded. "Good to know, love."

"Sure."

They sat there in a semi-awkward silence for a moment before Caroline began to stand up, tightening the belt on her robe and giving Klaus a small smile. "I'm going to go grab you a healing balm for your face, okay? I think we have some in our bathroom."

"You don't have to. I can--"

"You can't go out looking like that," she said firmly, reaching to run a fingertip down the cut on his face, wincing at the smear of blood right by the scab. "And since you won't tell me what did it, I'm not going to risk you getting them infected by not doing anything."

"Fine," he said finally, taking another bite of bacon. He seemed to not want to answer her real question, so she gave up, getting up to go to get the healing balm.

When she returned, Klaus was gone, the shower running in the bathroom by the guest room. She decided to wait for him, mostly because she was annoyed that he seemed to be avoiding her. When he emerged, he was only wearing a towel, and the look he gave her was slightly pained. He scowled when he saw the balm jar next to her. "Don't be a baby. Put some pants on and lie down," she ordered, gesturing to the bed.

He smirked, looking like he desperately wanted to make a comment that she'd probably scoff at, but he went back into the bathroom, emerging a few moments later in a pair of jeans. It was weird that he’d kept them in there, but whatever. Maybe he’d known that he would have to keep some clothes in the guest room?

She abruptly realized that she’d been obviously ogling him shirtless, and she ignored his smirk, clearing her throat and gesturing to the bed. He climbed on, resting on his stomach with his cheek resting against the pillow so that he could look at her, and she tried her best not to bite her lip at the stark tattoo against his skin and how freaking attractive he looked, unsure that she would have been able to pass it off as worry if he saw.

She climbed on the mattress behind him, unscrewing the jar and taking a bit of the thick paste on her fingers, pressing her lips together at his hiss when she began to apply it to his back. She could have sworn he shivered slightly when she ran her finger down his spine with light fingers. She was unable to resist the urge to not strictly keep to areas that were hurt. He’d basically been looking at her like he wanted to eat her for the past few months. He wouldn’t mind, right?

She worked in silence, grinning when his breath hitched when she let her fingers trace the triangle tattoo on his back under the guise of rubbing against a particularly deep cut. She felt a twinge when he groaned at the drag of her fingers against his spine, and she was glad that he couldn’t see her blush. She worked quickly after that though, not wanting to start something she wouldn’t be able to let herself finish. She set the jar on the side table as soon as she was done and got up, resisting the urge to tighten her robe again so that she didn't get the remaining paste on her fingers smeared on the fabric.

“All done.”

“Thank you, love,” he said, turning over to face her, the cuts on his stomach still obviously deep, a few spots of blood staining the white sheets. She swallowed.

“Lie down. I’ll take care of the rest, too.”

His eyebrows flew up but he didn’t argue, a smirk twisting his mouth as he obeyed. He looked up at her with dark eyes as she impulsively took more paste. She hadn't planned on doing his front too, but she kind of wanted to keep touching him, to feel his skin underneath her fingers. She bent over him, reaching down to spread it over the deep scratches on his abs. His eyelids fluttered when she brushed her thumb across his nipple, his muscles twitching. She kept eye contact with him as she carefully spread the paste over the cuts, now not bothering to hide that she was basically feeling him up, and she could hear his breathing begin to quicken as she ran the heels of her palms up his chest to wrap her fingers around his shoulders, her thumbs tracing his collarbone.

He groaned, reaching to wrap his hand around her wrist, but she pulled back out of his grasp, giving him an exasperated look that didn't at all match the skip of her heartbeat.

"Let me finish," she scolded, grinning at the look that was close to a pout he shot her before he obligingly took his hands away and laid them on the mattress, watching her with dark eyes as she rubbed the balm over the rest of the scratches, watching the skin slowly begin to knit back together. "There, all done," she said, setting the jar on the table.

When she looked back at him and saw the way he was looking at her she felt her breath catch. What had she done? She’d basically just given him a massage, medically necessary or not. He’d been eyeing her with more and more hunger over the weeks they’d lived together, and she couldn’t help but feel like she’d crossed the point of no return.

Her attraction to him was overwhelming and at this point undeniable. She couldn’t let him take over her heart the way he did her idiotically horny brain. Sure, they were going to be married, and in her heart of hearts she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to resist him forever, especially with heirs expected. She doubted that she’d last longer than the wedding, if that, but she wasn’t sure she trusted him yet.

He was dangerous. She couldn’t let herself fall for him.

* * *

"You look amazing, Care."

"Thanks, Bon," Caroline said, turning to the side and smoothing out the delicate lace where it had bunched around her waist. It hugged her curves well, flowing down to touch the floor with a train, the jewels distributed through the lace catching the light as she turned. "The torso is kind of long for me."

"We can alter it," Parvati promised, already brandishing her wand. "Do you want me to show you what it would look like?"

"Sure."

She waved her wand to cast an illusion charm before turning Caroline to look in the mirror, helping her adjust the clips holding the back up. Caroline swallowed, turning to the side and back, trying to figure out whether she liked it.

"If you don't think it's right, it's not right."

"I think I want a different one," Caroline said finally. "The lace is pretty, but it doesn't feel like me."

Parvati hummed, looking thoughtful as she stared, looking Caroline up and down. "Okay. Why don't you change back and we can look at something a little bit more modern. Or were you hoping for a fuller skirt?"

"No. I definitely like the shape. Maybe a bit more fitted around the waist? But not as much lace. Our theme is kind of wintery. Sparkle is fine."

She heard Bonnie giving her opinion on a few dresses on the rack while she was changing, handing the garment bag to Parvati's assistant when she left for the girl to whisk away to the back room.

A rack of options was pushed out with several choices, and Caroline was drawn to one on the end. It looked like it was made of a light fabric that would flow behind her as she walked, crystals scattered throughout to catch the light, and it looked like it was fitted exactly the way she wanted it, the sweetheart neckline cut just right to flatter her cleavage with a few creative spells.

"This one," she said, pulling it out.

“Excellent choice! The diamonds in the one I’d sew for you would be goblin-cut, of course. We can also do an enchantment to lighten the fabric to make it flow more, if you like,” Parvati said as she helped her into it, tightening the clips at the back and holding the train when she approached the three-way mirror. When Caroline caught sight of herself, she felt her breath hitch, hot tears filling her eyes. She hadn't expected to feel this emotional. This was an arranged marriage, one that she had to convince herself she was looking forward to to stay sane. She'd made multiple pros and cons lists, the pros list growing steadily longer as she got more creative, but it hadn't done anything to assuage the unwelcome nervousness creeping into her thoughts.

"You look gorgeous!" Bonnie said, smiling widely.

"You do. I think this could be the one," Parvati agreed, eyeing her critically. "We can alter it to nip your waist a bit more. It's fitted a bit already, but you have such a nice figure. It would be a shame to hide it."

"Okay," Caroline said, trying not to cry. God, this was so stupid. She'd always known that her wedding would likely be to someone she didn't even know, or considering her father's vast network of snobs, someone she didn't like, but she couldn't help but feel butterflies erupt in her stomach.

"Do you want to see it with the headpiece?" Parvati asked.

"Yeah."

Parvati went and retrieved the goblin-made tiara that had been in Caroline's family for generations, setting it on her head.

"This is it," Caroline confirmed, giving Bonnie a watery smile. "I think."

"Good. Let's get it off and I'll get it altered for you," Parvati said, guiding her back to the changing area. "Usually we wait until a few days before the wedding in case there are any changes to the body, but if you like you can provide some hair now and we'll keep a polyjuice potion for you on the day of to make sure it fits correctly."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Caroline said quickly, privately thinking how stupid it would be to give some random business access to impersonating her. "But I can come back a few days before for alterations, definitely."

"Good," Parvati said brightly. "I'll see you then."

She and Bonnie picked up their purses and left, chatting as they walked down the streets of downtown Diagon Alley, wandering in the general direction of the park at the end of the street. Early holiday shoppers were bustling around them, and Bonnie had taken a moment to linger in front of Flourish & Blott's, inspecting their holiday sale offers before they went in to browse. Ordinarily Caroline wouldn't have found anything suspicious about Bonnie's silence as they wandered through the shelves, but there was a tension in the air that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't until they walked out, Bonnie holding a shopping bag with a few Christmas presents for her mom and more for herself, that Caroline realized Bonnie was headed straight for a park bench on the side of the street.

"Caroline? Can we talk?" she asked, waving her wand to dry the wood from the lingering frost before sitting down and gesturing for Caroline to sit beside her.

"Yeah," Caroline said as she obeyed, wary at Bonnie's hesitant tone. "What's up?"

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah," Caroline said, already knowing where the conversation was going and dreading it. She hadn't decided whether she wanted to tell Bonnie yet. Every part of her brain was _screaming_ to, needing someone to confide in who would understand, but she could hear her father's voice in her head shouting not to trust anyone, even the people she loved. "I do."

"Okay. Can we talk about Klaus, then? Because I'm not judging you, or anything. You know I want you to be happy. But...does Klaus make you happy?"

"Yes?" Caroline half-asked, cringing at Bonnie's raised eyebrow. She'd always been a terrible liar, no matter how hard she'd practiced.

"Caroline..."

She sighed. She _knew_ she shouldn't, but she trusted Bonnie, possibly more than anyone else in the world other than her father. And where had not trusting anyone gotten Bill, anyway? It hadn't exactly turned out well for him. He'd been poisoned. He was dying. They still didn't have any leads to who had done it.

Caroline took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "We're arranged," Caroline admitted.

"Yeah, I figured that out already," Bonnie said impatiently. "You haven't talked about him since you turned him down at school and now you're suddenly engaged? Everyone who doesn't know you might buy that you were dating in secret, but there's no way you would be able to keep that from me."

Caroline's lips twitched. "That's probably true."

"It is true. So? What's his deal?"

"He's going to take over the public-facing parts of the business," Caroline admitted. "I'm still going to do the business-business part, obviously. He has his day job at Flint-Avery, anyway."

"What did he end up doing?"

"Spell creation. He works on enchantment improvements for magical objects."

"That's interesting! What's he working on right now?"

"I'm actually not sure. It's confidential, apparently. I think it's for the Ministry. He's pretty tight-lipped about it."

"Interesting. And so how did your arrangement happen?"

"He met with Dad about some sort of supplier thing, I think. You know we've worked closely with the Flints for years."

"Yeah. Your dad was thinking about arranging you with Calvin originally, right?"

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. The only good thing about marrying Klaus. At least he's not a pureblood supremacist. Mr. and Mrs. Flint were totally Death Eater sympathizers. I doubt Calvin was any better."

"Probably not. Anyway?"

"Yeah, so I guess they met about some kind of supply deal. I'm not entirely clear on how Klaus convinced him, but it was right after my dad got back from the hospital. I was going to try to find someone myself, but I guess that he thought Klaus would be a better pick than anyone I could track down."

"Did you even get a choice?"

Caroline shrugged, kicking a patch of grass with the pointy toe of her boot. "Not really. I mean, Klaus is objectively the best option, to be honest. He's good with people and he'd be a huge asset. It wasn't a bad idea. I'm okay."

"Yeah, you seem way _too_ okay with this," Bonnie said suspiciously. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Nothing important."

Bonnie leveled a glare at her that made her wince. She wasn't sure why she was avoiding telling Bonnie that she and Klaus were sleeping together. Probably because Bonnie's follow-up questions would make Caroline think about her attraction to Klaus, which she’d very carefully put in a box in her brain labeled “do not touch” just in case the attraction turned into ill-advised feelings.

"Caroline."

"I'm serious! We're just sleeping in the same room so that Jenna doesn't get suspicious."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't Jenna know it's an arrangement?"

"I mean, we haven't told her."

"But wouldn't she know?"

"I mean...yes," Caroline allowed. "But we're trying to act like it's not."

"Why?" Bonnie asked, her eyes narrowed. "There's no reason to do that. People get arranged all the time."

"Yeah," Caroline said slowly. "But like, I don't know. Klaus is being weird about it."

"Weird how?"

"He wanted to sleep in the same bed with me. For a cover or whatever," she said, deciding not to mention that she was way more okay with the arrangement than she’d anticipated.

"And you're doing it?"

"Yeah."

"Is that okay?" Bonnie asked, clearly concerned. "Like, is he doing anything?"

"No!" Caroline said quickly, trying to reassure her. "No. He hasn’t pressured me or anything, if that’s what you mean."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows. "So are you sleeping together, or are you _sleeping together_?"

“Just sleeping in the same bed. We haven’t done any sex stuff yet.”

“Not yet?”

“I mean like, we're going to be married...”

“So? People in arranged marriages have agreements to sleep around all the time!”

Caroline winced. “Yeah, but he doesn’t want me to.”

“So?” Bonnie asked again, frowning. “Does he want you to be celibate for the rest of your life?”

“I mean, no,” Caroline said slowly. “He just...he says he has zero interet in seeing anyone else, or in me seeing anyone else, and that he thought that eventually I’d want to.”

“Want to sleep with him?” Bonnie clarified.

“Yeah. And like, that’s fine I guess. Once I trust him more and we get to know each other better.”

"Oh my god, Caroline..."

"What? I don't want to not have sex for the rest of my life."

"You could have just not agreed to that,” Bonnie said, clearly exasperated.

Caroline huffed. Bonnie had a point. "But then what if he'd walked away from the deal?" she asked. It wasn’t that she wanted to _sleep with Klaus_. She just knew that he was her best option to get what she needed. Obviously.

Bonnie did not seem to agree, looking at her in complete disbelief. "Then he would have walked away from the deal. Oh no. You'd have to find another person to marry a hot twenty-five year old who was three months away from inheriting a billion-galleon fortune. Who would ever sign up for that?"

"An _illegally obtained_ fortune," Caroline pointed out, knowing that Bonnie wasn't wrong but not wanting to concede. "Look, Klaus was a good choice. I understand why my dad chose him, and it’s not like we don’t have to make heirs anyway. I’ll sleep with him minimum twice, anyway. Heir and a spare, you know?"

"Okay," Bonnie said, dragging the word out. "If you’re sure. I just worry about you, you know?”

"It'll be fine," Caroline said, trying to be as reassuring as she could and bumping Bonnie's shoulder with hers.

"I don't want you to be fine, Care. I want you to be happy."

Caroline took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, weighing her words. "I think...I think I could be happy with Klaus. Eventually. I mean, it'll be hard for now, but ultimately as long as we work at it and stay out of each other's way, and once I get comfortable enough with him, I can have a totally good no-strings-attached business-marriage, if that's a thing."

"I don't think it is," Bonnie said, her lips twitching. "But I know what you mean. I hope your no-strings-attached business-marriage works out, Care."

"Thanks. Me too."

* * *

It was the fourth month in a row where Klaus had warned her not to wait up and that he'd sleep in the guest room after looking for potions ingredients, and she was starting to get suspicious that something was amiss. It had seemed weird to her than he seemed to be the only one who went every month when the department was so large, especially since they were in charge of spell creation rather than potions. She vaguely remembered him disappearing one night both last month and in September, but she'd been busy at work at the time. It wasn't until she spotted the full moon out the window when she waited up that she realized what it might have meant, and after double checking the dates it all clicked into place.

The scratches, how he hadn't pointed out that he was gathering ingredients specifically the night of the moon, how he'd been especially touchy in public with her the last few days.... If she was right, and she was pretty sure she was, then they had some talking to do.

She decided to wait up for him, taking a pain relief potion for him and a pepper-up potion for herself and making her way to the guest room. She went through some work while she waited, and as she'd expected, he stumbled in just around sunrise, a few gashes on his upper arms, freezing when he saw her. "Caroline," he said, his voice rough. "I told you not to wait up."

"I remember," she said blandly, standing up and holding out the potion bottle for him to take. He inspected it carefully, and she tried not to be offended. She couldn't help the slight twinge of hurt, though. "It's just a pain relief potion."

He gave her a small smile. "I can tell. Thank you, sweetheart."

She watched him as he downed it, and was strangely surprised when he walked to throw the vial in the trash instead of handing it back to her to dispose of herself. "How do you feel?" she asked tentatively. "I don't know much about...about werewolf transformations, but I did some research and I know it can hurt."

If he was surprised that she'd figured it out he didn't show it, just giving her a tired smile. "Better," he said easily. "It hurts the night before and I get a bit achy the next day, but It's nothing too serious."

"Okay. I was just worried."

He gave her a dimpled smile that made her thankful for the lack of light when she felt her cheeks heat. "You don't need to worry about me, love," he said, smirking, before his smile dropped when she yawned. "All right, sweetheart?"

"Yeah. I just didn't get much sleep."

"That's why I told you not to wait up," he teased, his eyes soft.

"Well, I guess I'll have a quick nap before I go into the office," Caroline said, running her hand through her hair before tightening her robe a bit. "Are you coming to bed?"

"I'll be up in a few minutes, love," he promised. "Just have to change and put on the healing balm."

She nodded, yawning, and made her way up the stairs to their bedroom, falling into bed with a satisfied sigh. She pulled the covers around herself and got comfortable while she waited for Klaus to be done changing. She hadn't realized how she'd gotten used to sleeping with him until then. Not having his body pressed against her felt off, and she didn't like it. It was only a few moments before he got in bed and pulled her close, his arms tight around her waist to pull her flush against him.

"Klaus?" she asked after a few seconds of silence, knowing that he wasn't asleep yet from the rhythm of his breathing.

"Yes?"

"When were you planning on telling me?"

He sighed, apparently weighing the question before he answered. "Soon. I knew you'd figure it out eventually, of course, but I was hoping for another month or two."

"But before the wedding?" she clarified, and he laughed quietly.

"I'd never keep such a secret from you for that long."

"Okay," she said, privately thinking that he would keep secrets from her if it benefited him without hesitation, but not wanting to call him out on it for now. She was too comfortable. "Is there anything else I should know?"

He shifted behind her, adjusting his grip to fit her body to his. "Not anything all that important. My senses are sharper and I can be irritable."

"You? Irritable?" she teased, grinning at his huff.

"That, and I'm a natural werewolf."

She frowned. "A natural werewolf?"

"Yes. I was born a wolf."

"What's the difference? You weren't bitten?"

"No. I can transform whenever I like, but the moon's pull is near irresistible. I managed well enough at Hogwarts. Professor Slughorn let me transform as long as I took the wolfsbane potion. I'm not all that fond of the side effects now that I've left school, however. They dull my reflexes in wolf form and sap my energy. Quite unpleasant."

"Do you like, _bite_?" she asked, huffing at his chuckle. "You know what I mean."

"I do, sweetheart. No, I can't transmit the ability by bite, but it is genetic."

"Oh," Caroline said, not quite sure what the right response to that was. Was one of his muggle parents a wolf? How did that work? It also kind of weirded her out that he was calling it an 'ability' and not a curse. From what she understood, being a werewolf was painful and isolating. Maybe for Klaus it was different. She tried to put out of her mind what it would mean when they had to produce an heir.

"Was your dad one? Or your mom?" she asked, wincing when Klaus stiffened behind her.

"A story for another time," he said, his tone firm enough to let her know that she shouldn't push.

"Okay. Well, any more life-altering secrets you want to share before we tie the knot?" she asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Not tonight," he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. "Sleep, sweetheart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked the chapter. As always, I would love to know any favorite bits of dialogue or parts of the chapter. Your comments keep me inspired and motivated to continue. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy.


	6. Seal My Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this is late going up. I had a family emergency this weekend and also started a new job. Hopefully it's worth the wait.

"Really? You don't want to invite your family?" Caroline asked, frowning as she looked down at Klaus's provided list of guests. "Don't you have a bunch of siblings?"

"Yes," Klaus said shortly, not quite meeting her eyes. "But they're muggles. They can't attend a magical wedding."

"Of course they can! They've kept your magic a secret this long. I don't see why we can't give them a portkey in and out," Caroline promised, frowning when Klaus was silent for a moment too long. She put down her papers, scanning his face for any kind of indication for what he might be feeling. "What?"

He cleared his throat. "They haven't, actually," he said.

"Haven't what?"

"Kept it a secret."

"What do you mean? They have to, don't they? That's the law."

She knew it was a little silly that  _ that _ was her justification. After all, she bent (and broke) laws all the time, but she wasn't sure how they could have flouted it. It's not like muggles would believe them if they tried to insist on it. Klaus looked pained for a moment, his expression less guarded than she'd ever seen it. She couldn't help but wonder if he was faking openness to gain some kind of advantage.

"They don't know. They were never told in the first place," he said finally, his fingernails drumming on the table. "Mikael forbid it."

Caroline's mouth dropped open, though she managed to shut it quickly, trying to suppress her shock. Klaus's lips twisted in a bitter smile, and he sighed before beginning to explain. "My siblings have thought that I went to boarding school, which obviously I did, but Mikael told them that I had been sent there because I was a delinquent."

"You? A delinquent? I never would have guessed," Caroline teased, trying to break the tension. Klaus gave her a small smile.

"Yes, well. They don't want anything to do with me now, and I can't say I blame them. Mikael had nine months out of every year to tell them terrible stories of all the mischief I supposedly got up to, and when I came home I couldn't use magic, so I had no way to show them. I tried to show them my spellbooks the first summer, but it got back to Mikael quickly enough. Likely Finn told him. He's my eldest brother. Quite the snitch."

"What about your mom?"

He shrugged. "She felt bad enough about the affair that she didn't stop him. I suppose she was worried he'd leave and find some way to take my siblings with him."

He said it so casually, like it was an obvious fact. In their six months of fake engagement, he’d never really told her anything personal beyond a casual mention of something related to one of his siblings. The frank reveal of something so private felt like they’d hit some sort of landmark. "Affair?"

"Mikael isn't my father. My mother had an affair with a man who passed through while traveling. I don't know much about him, but from what I've managed to find out from my mother's descriptions, a few creative potions, and some muggle DNA tests, he's likely a wizard."

"And a natural werewolf," Caroline finished for him. He nodded. "Did you ever meet him?"

"No. I tried to find him once, but I couldn't locate him. I'm unsure whether it's because he's dead or if he simply didn't want to be found," Klaus said, looking away from her briefly before meeting her eyes again. "In any case, my siblings likely wouldn't come if they were invited, nor would my mother. Even if they wanted to, Mikael would forbid it and make their lives miserable."

"I'm sorry," Caroline said quietly, fiddling with her quill between her fingers.

"Nothing to be done about it now."

"Still."

He gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes before sliding a list towards her. "It's just my mates from Hogwarts and a few people I met at my job. I'm sure your list is much longer than mine because of your connections."

"I mean, my list of people I want to invite isn't long, but the ones I have to definitely is," Caroline said grumpily, adding Klaus's list to hers and putting them in the folder labeled 'Wedding' on the edge of her desk. "And 'mates'? Really? From what I got they were more like your minions."

"Perhaps they're minions. Followers. Cult members..." he trailed off with a grin. "But now they'll be yours as well."

She wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

"You'll find that they're rather helpful. Loyal employees are the backbone of every workforce, after all."

"Maybe," Caroline said with a shrug. "Depends what you do with them."

"They'll help us with the business. Provide connections...Some of the less savory ones have items we may be able to acquire. Many of them work for me regardless, so I'm sure they'll be willing to work for me at Forbes, Inc., along with my lovely wife, of course."

"Sounds great."

He grinned, peeking over her shoulder at her list. "And who are you inviting?"

"Just our entire Hogwarts class and every influential family," she said grumpily. "Probably most of my extended family."

"Will I finally get to meet your mother, then?" Klaus asked, his tone light.

Caroline stiffened, her lips pressing together tightly. "Maybe. If she comes."

"I'm sure she wouldn't miss your wedding."

Caroline shrugged, turning back to the binder with her lips pressed tightly together. "Well, we'll see, I guess."

"If you're comfortable, I'd like to know, sweetheart. Just because someone might ask. It could be useful context for something."

Caroline snorted. She highly doubted that would be the case. "Trust me, it's been secret enough that you don't have to listen to me talk about it."

"What if I want to?" he asked, looking at her intently.

Caroline scowled. Her mom was a touchy subject, one that she preferred not to think about even in the privacy of her own head, let alone with another person. Sure, Klaus seemed to have parent baggage of his own, but that didn't mean he needed to know anything about hers, or that he would understand. As far as she was concerned, it would be useless to rehash all of her problems with her mom.

Or, really, her mom's problems with her.

"It's really not that big of a deal," she deflected.

"It's a big enough deal that you think she won't come to our wedding," Klaus pointed out, reaching to press his palm over Caroline's hand where she was clutching the quill so tightly that it seemed close to snapping in half. She loosened her grip, not meeting his eyes. He'd been honest with her. She supposed it was only right to return the favor. Still, now that she'd made a big deal about it she felt a little silly. Klaus had clearly dealt with worse. Would he think she was being silly? 

"It was my fault. Mostly," Caroline said with a shrug. "I mean, she and my dad were complicated. They were arranged from when they were pretty young, like way before my dad came out. After they got married they had me, because they had to, but I don't think either of them would have wanted me if they hadn't basically been forced to have a kid."

"Your father dotes on you."

Caroline shrugged. "Yeah, because he feels guilty. He wasn't like that when I was growing up. He mostly just made my mom 'deal with me', or whatever. He pretty much moved to his own wing of the house and didn't speak to either of us unless he had to. Sometimes he'd have me 'come to work' with him over the summers when I was back from Hogwarts, and that was the only time I really got to spend with him."

She waited for a reaction from Klaus, but he didn't say anything, just waiting patiently for her to go on. 

"Anyway," she began again, "I know that she knew that he was seeing Steven. Sometimes arranged marriages don't end up with people falling in love, obviously, and usually they get partners outside of the marriage if it doesn't matter whether their partner needs to seem like a permanent fixture. My mom never wanted to be involved in the business, so whether their marriage worked didn't end up mattering, but I think she had hoped that it would, since they'd been such good friends, you know?"

"I suppose."

"Yeah, so anyway he asked for an official divorce two weeks after my eighteenth birthday, from what I've figured out, but they'd been separated since I was really little. My mom wanted me to go to school in the U.S. before Hogwarts, so I lived with her most of the time. They told everybody it was because the schools were better over there, but it was really because she wanted to get away from him. She was happy when it was over, I think. She didn't want to deal with pretending he wasn't cheating on her anymore. Anyway, she wanted to move back to the U.S. permanently, since she didn't really need to work for the company, and she wanted me to come with her. I don't think that she ever wanted me to have anything to do with the company, really. She would have been happy as a clam if it went to Cami and Damon. Anyway, I said no."

"That's not your fault, love," Klaus pointed out. "You wanted your birthright. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah, that wasn't the 'my fault' part," Caroline said tiredly. "I was so mad at her for leaving. I felt like she was just abandoning me. Like, my dad loved me but he never really spent any time with me, and she was making me choose between her and what I'd been raised to do. I'd been working so hard for it, and she basically just gave me the worst ultimatum ever, so I lashed out. I basically told her that Steven was a better parent to me than she was, which was a big fat lie. But I told her that if she really cared about me, she would have like, stayed."

"I'm sorry," Klaus said quietly.

"It's fine. I'm just....I regret it. A lot. And now she never really talks to me. I rejected all of her calls for like, two years because i was embarrassed and now she won't answer mine either. I know I hurt her, but I feel like it's not fair. You know?"

"I do."

They sat in silence for a moment, Caroline fiddling with her quill as she tried to figure out what to say. Klaus broke the silence after a few seconds, not meeting her eyes as he spoke. "I still talk to 'Lijah sometimes. He doesn't know about...the magic," he said slowly. "But he believes you should never abandon family. I think he hopes that he'll save me from whatever vagrant life Mikael's alleged I live."

"Oh," Caroline said softly. "That's...nice?"

Klaus huffed out what was probably supposed to be a laugh but came out as more of a strangled breath. "I suppose. Perhaps one day you can meet him. If you'd like."

She swallowed audibly. For some reason, meeting the brother he barely talked to felt more intimate than anything they'd discussed so far. Klaus clearly cared about his siblings, but she wasn't sure how she felt about meeting someone who Klaus had such a complicated past with. But they'd be together for the rest of their lives, and him offering to share that part of him with her was huge. A big step. Especially considering they'd only been pretending to date for a few months.

"I think I'd like that."

"We should do it after the honeymoon," Klaus said, looking determinedly down at the list he was making, apparently not wanting to see her reaction. "I'll call him later this week to tell him about you. He'll feel slighted if he doesn't know. I'll tell him we're eloping, and then we can see him after we get back."

"On the muggle telephone?" she asked, perking up. Steven had showed her his once, but she'd never actually used one. Muggles were fascinating, all the things they could do with their little machines.

He laughed. "Yes. I have one. Flint Avery occasionally has deals with muggle suppliers for my department. A lot of the materials we use need to be untouched by magic to be usable, so in order to ensure that, muggle dealing is best. In any case, if you'll give me some sense of your schedule after we get back, I'm sure he'll be pleased to set something up to meet you."

"Okay," she said slowly, starting to have the suspicion that he'd thought about this a lot more than he was letting on. "Sounds like a plan."

"And your mother? Should I meet her before the wedding?"

Caroline's teeth sunk into her lower lip, and she shrugged. "I mean, if she comes around, maybe? I can call her and ask. Do you want to meet her?"

"If you're amenable."

"Sure. I'll call her later."

* * *

"So, we have to make sure Camille and Damon buy that we're a thing tonight," Caroline said for what felt like the fifth time, at least. Klaus, as he had the last few times, nodded reassuringly, though he was growing weary of it.

Hopefully soon she'd come to learn that he had no qualms about showing others that she belonged to him. She still treated it as though it was some sort of sacrifice to have to touch her waist and send her adoring gazes in public, but he intended to ensure that she realized that there was nothing he'd like more than to have her nestled against his side when they socialized. To show the world that she'd given herself to him, however unwillingly initially.

"Were Camille and Damon arranged?" 

"No. She chose him on purpose, which is like, mind-boggling."

"Is he that bad?" 

"Worse," Caroline said darkly. "So much worse. Like, you wouldn't believe how awful."

Her tone was worrying, and he had the nasty feeling that Damon had given her a reason to dislike him this much. Klaus's lips thinned. He'd made a promise to himself to not use legilimency on Caroline, but that didn't mean he wasn't tempted. He didn't like the idea that Damon might have done something to her, nor was he fond of feeling in the dark about it.

"Any particular reason?"

She shrugged. "He hits on me when Camille's out of the room, which is icky, and he talks down to me a lot. Plus he totally wants to take over the company once my dad dies, and he is not subtle about it at all. He's also just like, not the nicest person? I don't know. He just sucks."

"Duly noted," Klaus murmured, resisting the urge to grab her hand as they continued their path through the gardens in the late morning sunlight. Assistants and waiters were bustling around them, setting up for the ceremony to take place the next morning. Caroline had insisted on stepping out to supervise the last-minute details, and he had been eager to accompany her. She'd always been a force of nature at school, organizing every possible event that she could get her hands on, ordering around her team like an army general to execute everything to perfection. It was a talent that he was sure served her well in her business, and would serve her even better ruling beside him.

He sincerely doubted that Caroline had cottoned on to his plans, clever as she was. It would seem ridiculous to her.

"You, Anna, and Pearl have outdone yourselves, sweetheart," he murmured when he saw an elf with a tray passing by with a centerpiece for the reception buffet table.

"Thanks," she said brightly, not even trying to pretend to be humble about the part she played in readying the decor. It was rather charming. "I was a little worried about how the flowers would come off with the colors, but it looks nice."

"It does."

"I'm just going to check up on a few things before I change. You'll be ready by six, right?"

"Of course, love."

"Great!" she said, clearly relieved. "Okay. I'll see you in a bit, then."

She glanced around at the staff bustling around them before pecking him lightly on the cheek and shooing him off. He went willingly, knowing that he only had a few hours to check up on Marcel's progress with tracking down their latest lead on the book. He'd told Caroline it was work, of course. That it was a confidential project. She'd seemed to believe him and hadn't pressed for more information, though he could see the curiosity in her expression. Her interest could be a complication, but he aimed to be subtle enough that she'd not know about the horcrux until the time was right.

He had a feeling that Caroline would object to him doing a dark ritual to rip his soul in half to achieve immortality, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Not if he wanted to get the power he craved. She'd see sense eventually, he knew that much. Perhaps he was too much of an optimist thinking she'd join him, but he liked to think that she'd be drawn to the power too, ambitious as she was. She'd never worry about the company being taken from her again. And that's what she wanted, wasn't it?

He was so looking forward to watching her learn to embrace her own darkness.

The rehearsal dinner to come after his conversation with Marcel, however, he was not looking forward to in the least.

* * *

"It's good to see you," Caroline said with an icy smile, hugging Camille and stepping back to glue herself to Klaus's side, laying her head on his shoulder briefly. His warmth was comforting in the over-cooled space of the restaurant's VIP lounge, where they were waiting for everyone to arrive before they were seated. His hand drifted down to rest on her hip as he tugged her closer, his hand extending to Damon's to shake.

"How did you two meet?" Camille asked politely, sitting down on one of the plush loveseats next to Damon, who was already engrossed in the bar menu. Caroline and Klaus sat across the small table in the individual armchairs, a small side table separating them.

"We met at school. We were in the same house," Klaus said with a dimpled smile and a fond look in Caroline's direction, which she reciprocated as best she could.  _ God,  _ he really was a good actor. "I admit that I fancied her at school. I'm quite lucky that she agreed to take a chance on me after we graduated."

"Oh, I'm sure Caroline's the lucky one. I was getting worried," Camille said brightly, her tone faltering when she saw the look on Caroline's face. "Not  _ worried _ , exactly. You know, I just want you to be happy, and you're always so busy with the company. I thought you might not be able to find...you  _ know. _ "

"I don't, actually."

"She thought that someone wouldn't want to be the third in the marriage between you and work," Damon cut in snidely. "But it's good Barbie found a Ken who thinks her quirks are cute, I guess."

"Barbie?" Camille asked, clearly mystified by the reference, and Damon dropped a kiss to her temple with a condescending smile.

"Cultural reference, sweetie. You wouldn't know about it."

_ Gag _ .

"Okay," Camille said with a smile, clearly too used to Damon talking down to her to recognize that that's what he was doing. "Well, you know I don't mean anything by it, Caroline. And neither does Damon. We just want you to be happy."

"Of course," Caroline bit out, restraining the urge to carve Damon's eyeball out of his face with the toothpick umbrella in her drink and resolutely pasting a cheerful grin on her face before she continued. "Klaus  _ does  _ make me happy. He's so sweet, and he's been helping with the wedding. I know that you and Damon had trouble with him being busy and not being able to devote the time you wanted him to, so I wanted to make sure to learn from what happened so that ours will go a bit more smoothly."

Camille's smile was suddenly frozen on her face, her fingers drumming against the wooden tabletop, her spine straightened with offense. Good. "Oh, I'm glad that you're enjoying wedding planning," she said stiffly. "Have you been planning long? How long have you been seeing each other, anyway? I don't remember Uncle Bill telling me you were in a relationship recently."

The  _ are you arranged  _ rang out loud and clear, and Caroline swallowed, grateful when Klaus cut in.

"We ran into each other at Flourish and Blott's a few months ago. I'd missed her after we parted ways after school, of course--"

"You dated at school?" 

"Not exactly," Caroline hedged. "We were...friends."

Klaus laid a hand on top of hers and gave her a warm smile that made her feel calmer. "I asked her to dinner. She demurred of course, said she was quite busy with work, but I managed to coax out a promise for coffee. Things sort of went on from there."

"A whirlwind romance, then! That sounds very romantic," Camille simpered, reaching to lace her fingers through Damon's with a smile. "That reminds me of how I met this one. He just wouldn't stop pursuing me until I said yes. It was sweet."

Of course Camille would think someone harassing someone else into a date was romantic. 

"I wouldn't call it a whirlwind romance," Caroline said, trying not to sound too annoyed. Camille had a special talent for backhanded compliments and rude implications, though she only seemed to occasionally mean them that way. "We knew each other before, and it was important to me that we get married before my dad dies."

She let her voice hitch at the end, not trying to suppress it. She wasn't above playing the sympathy card. As she expected, Camille's expression softened. "Of course. I totally get it. How's Uncle Bill doing, by the way?"

"He's okay. He has some trouble getting around, but he's doing fine otherwise. He wanted to come tonight, but he wasn't feeling up to it."

Wasn't feeling up to dealing with Damon, really. If anyone hated Damon more than her, it was Bill, who saw Damon's clear intent to steal the company from right under their noses as a personal attack on everything he'd worked so hard for.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline," Camille said softly. before brightening a bit. "But at least you snagged a cute husband, right? There's a silver lining to everything!"

Caroline kind of wanted to strangle her. "Yeah, I guess."

They were interrupted by a passing waiter, whose self-inking recording quill wrote down Damon's order of three bottles of wine for the table before she left after telling them to get her if they needed anything while they waited for the rest of their party.

"So," Camille said when they were alone again. "Was the proposal romantic?" 

"It was," Caroline agreed, laying her cheek against Klaus's shoulder and looking up at him with what she hoped passed as an adoring gaze. "He's the best at that kind of stuff."

"That's so nice. Damon's really romantic too," Camille said with a smile. "He took me whiskey-tasting for my birthday, and it was the sweetest thing."

Caroline sincerely doubted that. Camille wasn't a heavy drinker, but Damon was. It sounded like he just found something he'd like to do and used Camille's birthday as an excuse to go. Yikes.

They were interrupted by Bonnie entering the lounge, disentangling her fingers from her boyfriend Kai's and waiting for Caroline to stand to give her a tight hug. "Hey!"

"I'm so glad you could come. You guys should take a seat. We're only waiting for Klaus's best man, Marcel, and then they'll give us our table."

Bonnie nodded, waving her wand to pull another, smaller couch to squeeze between the chairs and the loveseat where Camille and Damon were sitting. Kai and Klaus exchanged handshakes and greetings, and soon enough they were all settled, the waitress coming by with the first bottle of wine for them to share.

"How are you doing?" 

"Good," Caroline said with a smile, grateful to have another ally in the room with her. "Really good. I'm excited."

"Great!" Bonnie said, turning to Klaus and holding out her hand. "Klaus, it's good to see you again! It's been a long time."

"It has," he agreed, shaking her hand and giving her a dimpled smile.

"I feel like I still know you, though. Caroline's told me  _ everything  _ about how you guys finally got together."

It was a clear message, one that Klaus seemed to hear loud and clear judging by the way his expression turned icy for just a moment before he managed to soften it. "Good things, I hope?"

"So far. Hopefully it stays that way."

"Oh, I'm sure it will!" Caroline cut in, throwing her friend a warning look. "I've never been happier, Bon. You know that."

"Nor have I," Klaus said softly, looking at her with a soft expression that nearly made her melt on the spot.

Merlin, he was too good at this.

"So, when's your friend supposed to get here? We came a long way, and Cami's starving. Eating for two and all that."

"Damon," Camille scolded, elbowing him in the side, her other hand moving to rest on her barely-there baby bump. "I'm fine, really. And I'm sure Zach won't mind waiting either."

"You picked out a name?" Caroline asked politely, taking a sip of wine.

"Yes. For Damon's uncle."

"How nice."

"We're excited! First heir in the family," Camille said with a bright smile. 

"Yeah, it's always good to be the first born," Damon said, shooting a pointed look at Caroline. "I always tell Cami it's a shame you were a few months earlier or she could have been as busy as you."

"Don't be silly," Camille said immediately, giving Damon a warning look. "Caroline's great with the company. I'm sure she'll teach Zachary everything he needs to know."

_ Over my dead body. _

She was saved from finding something suitably polite to say by Marcel arriving, and they were quickly escorted to their table in the quiet area of the private dining room. Camille watched with badly hidden resentment as Klaus pulled out Caroline's chair for her, Damon already sitting down and pouring his second (maybe third?) glass of wine.

Caroline thanked Klaus with a kiss on the cheek, giving him a smile when he glanced in her direction with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. She tried not to flush. She was  _ getting into character, _ okay?

She let him put his arm around her shoulder though, scooting her chair a bit closer to him, hoping they looked like the picture of a nearly newlywed couple who couldn't keep their hands off of each other and trying not to think too hard about why Klaus's proximity made her feel safe, even under Damon's gross gaze.

"Let's toast," Camille said, picking up her sparkling cider and holding it up, everyone following suit immediately. "To Klaus and Caroline, for a happy marriage. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Did you guys have a favorite part or line? Any thoughts on Camille and Damon's relationship? Predictions on where Klaus's big reveal might lead? I'd love to hear what you think!


	7. Fever Dream High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to honestgrins for beta work. I hope this isn't a spoiler for you guys, but I want to warn/reassure you (depending on what your stance is) that Klaus and Caroline DO NOT have children in this story. I won't reveal anything more than that, but I tend to shy away from writing kids. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Caroline wrinkled her nose when her feet hit solid concrete at the portkey terminal, catching Klaus's arm to keep herself from stumbling. She'd changed out of her dress into some more casual clothes before they'd left, but the heat was already making her cardigan stick to her skin, her sundress fluttering around her calves in the light breeze.

They'd decided to retreat to a magical resort in Honolulu for their honeymoon, the entrance hidden in the elevator for one of the nicer muggle ones. It had been a long time since Caroline had been on vacation, and even longer since she'd been able to spend time at a beach. The mansion had a swimming pool in the back, but the weather at her family's estate was hardly ever nice enough to sunbathe.

She was looking forward to a few weeks of rest and relaxation, ignoring her responsibilities and hopefully getting to know Klaus a little bit better. 

She let Klaus tangle their fingers together as they walked through the magical section of the Honolulu airport toward the wall that would take them to wizarding customs and then the tram to the muggle baggage claim area, where apparition wards ended. She'd argued with him initially about having to look like they were together in public. No one knew them here, after all. Klaus, however, pointed out rather persuasively that many pureblood families went on holiday at the resort in the area, and it wouldn't do to blow their cover when they were trying to convince the general public that they were in love. She'd begrudgingy agreed.

They rode the muggle shuttle in silence, Klaus keeping one hand to steady the large suitcase, charmed to be weightless and therefore prone to tipping, and one arm securely around Caroline's waist. He smelled ridiculously good, and she found herself resisting the urge to bury her face in his shoulder more than once. When they finally made it to the elevator in the lobby, Caroline waited until the doors closed before reaching to press the 'doors close' button three times followed by the 'doors open' twice and then the lobby button. The elevator dinged and they sunk below lobby level to the wizarding section below ground, disembarking from the elevator to reveal a marble balcony that they stepped on to. 

The marble pathway was bordered by a gilded railing, the view from it showing several floors of various restaurants, spas, shops, and a fitness center, gold and glass lifts floating from gaps in the railing through the air to take their passengers to different areas. A wizard appeared out of nowhere, dipping into a low bow and holding out his hand to take their luggage. "Welcome to Phoenix Falls Resort," he greeted with a warm smile. "Can I have your name?"

"Reservation's under Klaus and Caroline Mikaelson."

"Of course," the wizard nodded, gesturing for them to follow him. "Right this way."

They followed him to the nearest gap in the railing, pressing a small button to call a lift for them and letting them board first, making small talk with them as the glass doors shut to keep them inside. He led them to their rooms, giving them a key card to enter and wishing them a pleasant stay, inviting them to floo the front desk if they had any questions.

"I am exhausted," Caroline said, falling onto the king-sized bed.

"I'm not surprised," Klaus said, shedding his suit jacket and folding it over the back of a chair. "How early did you have to get up?"

"Anna woke me up at five," Caroline said grumpily, squeezing her eyes shut and running her fingers through her hair, scowling at the slight remaining sliminess from the hair potions the hairdresser had used. "The hour and a half of pampering was a lot less fun than I had hoped for, honestly."

"Well, you looked beautiful."

"Thank you," she said, stretching her arms and curling her toes, the dress clinging to her long legs. God, that felt  _ good _ .

"Too tired to go out to dinner? Do you want me to call an elf?"

"Yeah, I think so. You can totally go out if you want, though."

"Without my wife? On our honeymoon?" he asked, giving her a chiding look that made her scrunch her nose.

Something about the word 'wife' made her feel _something,_ though. It was one of those twists in your stomach that could be either nausea or excitement."Hey, I just wanted to throw out the option. I was being nice."

"Well, thank you for offering. D'you want to take a bath while I floo the kitchens?"

"Are you saying I smell?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Because that would be beyond rude."

"Not at all. You just seem to take baths to relax, from what I've seen."

"Oh," she said, a bit surprised that he'd noticed. "Um. Yeah, I do."

"I'll let you know when the food gets here," he promised, reaching for the floo powder.

She thanked him and fled to the bathroom, her heart pounding. They'd been sharing a bedroom for months, but Klaus paying enough attention to know her habits, her preferences, was somehow more intimate than she'd realized. He'd always noticed things about her, remembered bits of their conversations. It was one of the things that made him so good at manipulating people.

Was he genuinely trying to connect with her? It had been their wedding day after all, something she still had complicated feelings about. She found herself wanting to be closer to him, since they were spending the rest of their lives together. As manipulative as Klaus might be, he  _ was  _ her husband, and she might as well make the best of it. They were going to run the company together. Raise kids. Whether she wanted it to be true or not, they were a team now, and if Klaus, in all his sociopathic glory, was making an effort, maybe she should too.

Or maybe he could just be grooming her to be one of his next victims.

She wasn't sure.

* * *

Caroline groaned, shifting in bed and burying her face into Klaus's chest to fend off the morning light. He was breathing evenly, and she would have thought that he was still asleep if she hadn't felt his fingertip lazily drawing patterns up and down her spine. "Caroline?" he murmured quietly enough that it wouldn't have woken her if she was asleep but loud enough that now that she was awake she couldn't have not heard.

"Yeah?" she mumbled.

"I need to get breakfast, sweetheart. Do you want anything?"

She hummed, stretching as she considered her options, her toes curling. "Do they have pancakes?"

"I'm sure I can convince them even if they don't," he said.

"That would be great."

She turned over in bed lazily, watching him toss some floo powder into the fireplace and stick in his head, absently admiring the way that his boxer briefs clung to him. She turned around when he was backing out, closing her eyes and stretching, her toes curling against the mattress, back arching. "Comfortable?" Klaus asked with a dimpled grin, running his fingers through his hair before wandering over to their suitcases, bending down to grab some clothes and glancing at her over his shoulder. "What would you like to do today, love?"

She hummed in agreement, boosting herself to sit up and lean against the headboard, yawning. "Maybe we could do some touristy stuff today? Hike some volcanoes? Maybe spend some time on the beach?"

"If you like," he said agreeably, standing and making his way to the bathroom. "I'll only be a few minutes."

"'Kay," she mumbled, turning over to grab a pillow and burying her face in it, belatedly realizing that it was his. It smelled like him. She pulled it closer, letting her eyes drift shut. Maybe she could get just a bit more sleep...

* * *

"That smells amazing."

"D'you want some?" Klaus asked, already tugging her over to the food truck, which was tucked at the edge of the parking lot by the beach. It was crowded, tourists jostling with each other to speak to the man in the window on the side of the stand. "Get us a table, sweetheart?"

"Sure," she said, giving his hand one last squeeze without thinking about it before letting go hastily, turning away from him to hide her blush at her coupley behavior. She distracted herself by scanning the area for somewhere to sit. After discreetly cast a scouring charm on a table for two bolted to the concrete, she settled down, sending a fake smile at a teenage boy who had clearly just been about to claim it before she'd appeared. Finders keepers.

Klaus was speaking to the food cart owner, counting out the muggle money easily and exchanging it for two containers. She inhaled when he brought them back and set it in front of her, her mouth watering. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when she poked the white, squishy shell suspiciously with her fork, creating a crack in the lid immediately. Klaus laughed at the look on her face, and she flushed, glaring at him. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. It's styrofoam. Muggles use it to hold things or to put in boxes to keep packages from shifting around."

"Is that safe to put food in? Should I scourgify it?"

"Perfectly safe."

She made what could probably be mistaken for a moan when she bit into the barbeque chicken, her eyes closing as she chewed. "This is amazing," she said after she swallowed, her tongue darting over her lips to catch the sauce. "Merlin. So good."

"Aren't you glad we went to the muggle section?" he said, the volume low enough that she didn't feel like she had to scold him for the possibility of the people around them overhearing.

"Yeah. I mean, our food's good, but this is...."

"Better than it is with magic?" Klaus supplied. "Yes. Shortcuts tend to lower the quality, I've found."

"I didn't expect you to know so much about this stuff."

"Muggle culture, you mean?" he asked with a knowing smile. "My family often traveled over the summer holidays, and the neighbor they paid to mind me didn't much care what I did during the day as long as I texted to check in every now and again. I couldn't use my muggle cell phone in magical London, so I'd wander around the muggle parts. Summer before fifth year I convinced Bernard Rookwood to come to my parents' house when they were away to teach me to apparate, since he was seventeen by then. After that, I traveled as I pleased. I stole bits of pocket money from my parents and their friends so that they wouldn't miss it and wandered 'round to amuse myself."

Caroline had a million questions. She could buy him learning to apparate that early--Klaus was powerful and had mastered spells much faster than everyone else in their class--but it seemed crazy that he just traveled around by himself. Was he not  _ supervised _ ? She couldn't imagine her parents letting her do anything even half as exciting. Sure, she'd managed to get away with a lot without them noticing, but nothing like  _ that _ .

As Klaus opened up to her more and more about his childhood, she found herself growing more confused. He'd always seen him as being arrogant and abrasive, but the way he talked about his siblings was almost sweet, even if he was bitter that they'd left him to fend for himself. This was the most she'd gotten out of him in one outing so far.

She was starting to see him in a new way, even as she tried to remind herself that he was dangerous. He was an ally, but that didn't mean he was her friend. 

"Where have you been?"

"Outside of the U.K., you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Lots of places. Usually aided by a translation spell," he said, taking another bite of his lunch, leaving her impatiently waiting for him to finish his thought. "The summer before seventh year my parents took my siblings to Madrid for a month. Left me at home and paid a neighbor to pop in to make sure I was alive twice a week or so. I set up security charms to let me know when they came 'round and went to visit places for a few days each."

"You got away with using magic outside of school? How?"

"That's my secret, love," he said with a dimpled smile, his grin growing wider at her pout. "Perhaps I'll tell you another time."

"It's not nice to keep things from your wife, you know," she teased, taking another bite of chicken, hoping the heat on her cheeks at his satisfied smirk at the words wasn't distinguishable from a flush from the oppressive heat.

"Perhaps not," he said, his dimples cutting into his cheeks more deeply now. "The answer to your original question was that I ended up visiting five cities in all that summer."

Fine. She'd drop it for now. "Where?"

"Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, and New York. Have you been?"

"Not to any of those, no," Caroline said, trying not to show how jealous she was of his freedom, his ability to go wherever he wanted, when he wanted. It was an idea that was completely foreign to her, to not have her every move watched by bodyguards or monitoring spells. It sounded...nice. "I haven't really been anywhere, other than where I lived with my mom. I think I might have told you, but my mom went to Salem Witches Academy before she and my dad were arranged. My Uncle Kieran lives in New Orleans, so I've been there too. That's where Cami grew up. She went to Salem as well."

"You've not been to New York?"

Caroline shrugged. "No. This is the first time I've traveled, basically. Other than Hogwarts and my parents, I mean."

"I thought you grew up in America?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I did. I went to elementary school there. My mom made my dad promise, since she knew that I was basically going to stay in the U.K. after I started at Hogwarts. We lived in Connecticut so that I could go to Marchbanks Prep. It's an elementary school for wizard kids."

"And the summers after you started Hogwarts?" 

"I mostly hung out at home with my dad. I was involved with the company from a really young age, even if I didn't know exactly what we did. I used to help out where I could, mostly at the stores we run in Knockturn Alley. I'd pack stuff up or help one of our antique shops stock the shelves. I don't know if you remember this, but I worked--"

"You worked at St. Claire's Antiques," Klaus finished her sentence, nodding. "Yes, I do remember popping in more than once that summer to survey their offerings. And you."

"And me?" she repeated, her eyebrows raising. "Seriously?"

"I fancied you," he said with a dimpled smile. "I'd come in to peruse, usually making myself scarce when you weren't busy, but if you were distracted I'd linger."

"You make it sound like you were stalking me."

Klaus shrugged. "A bit," he admitted. "But I tried my best to be subtle. And from what you've said, it worked."

She shrugged. "I mean, I didn't like you very much, but I guess my dad did."

There was a beat of silence, Klaus taking a bite of his pork and chewing thoughtfully before he spoke. "Why didn't you?"

"Like you?" Caroline asked, slightly surprised by the question. He nodded. "Well, I guess that I could feel that you were dangerous, you know?"

"No one else seemed to think so."

"You're good at making people like you," she said with a shrug. "I guess I just saw through it better than most people, or maybe I was too much of an idiot to be scared of you."

"You're anything but stupid, Caroline. And I never wanted to frighten you," Klaus said easily, his eyes soft. "Others, perhaps, but not you."

"It doesn't matter," she said, staring down at her food and poking it again with a fork. "We're married now, and you signed a vow not to hurt me. I don't really have anything to be scared of. Right?"

"I'd never hurt you," he said immediately. "Vow or not. You must know that. Not ever."

"Why?" she asked, not quite sure whether she wanted to know the answer. She stabbed her last bite with her fork, dragging it around to gather up the remaining sauce and shoving it in her mouth in a rather unladylike gesture that would have made her Aunt Margaret faint, hoping that chewing would prevent her from asking any more questions.

"I take care of what's mine."

"The whole 'mine' possession thing is not my favorite, just so you know," she grumbled. "I'm my own person."

"You are. That's part of what drew me to you, I suppose. Your fire. Your spine. How you bend only for the ones you're most loyal to...you never gave me an inch that I didn't earn."

He said it so matter-of-factly, as though it should be obvious. "But," he continued. "That doesn't mean that you can't decide to bend for me, now. To allow me the privilege of holding your trust. You're not in love with me, and you claim you never will be. I intend to change that. However, if you're so determined to deny yourself that indulgence, I endeavor to at least earn your loyalty and your partnership."

She wet her lips, her heart pounding a million times a minute in her chest. "I mean, we're married," she said, somewhat lamely. "You'll have a position in the company, and we'll work together. So there's that."

"There's that," he echoed, his lips curling in a small smile. "For now."

She let out a breathy laugh, turning away to look at the sign marking the beginning of the hiking trail of the volcano, where they'd been planning to spend the next hour or two. "You're so confident."

"I like to think I'm optimistic," he agreed. She heard the soft swoosh of him tossing the remains of their lunches into a nearby bin before she felt him move closer to her, and when she looked at him she saw that he was offering her his arm. "As I said, I intend to show you that you're mine. To earn your affections. I've wanted you for years. I'll wait longer."

She let out a shaky breath, looking away from him, unsure how to respond. "We should start walking so that we get back to the hotel before dinner," she said finally, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow and giving him a small, strained smile.

"As you wish, love."

* * *

Caroline didn't know why she was putting in so much effort. She and Klaus were married, and sure, he'd told her that he wanted monogamy, that he'd wait as long as it took for her to come to him, but she didn't feel comfortable yet. Right?

For some reason, her hands didn't stop their exploration of her closet, her brain automatically thinking through each outfit. She pulled out a dress that was a bit revealing, one that she usually saved for fancy dinners with vendors who stared too long at her chest and could be swayed by a little leaning forward. 

"The place is nice, right?" she called to the other room where Klaus was waiting.

"Yes. Cocktail attire, as the muggles say. They have a tasting menu. Don't think too hard about it, sweetheart. It's not as though you've anyone to impress."

That was almost a dare to protest, wasn't it?

"I don't know. My husband will be there."

She heard him chuckle, and she didn't have to peek outside of the closet to know that he was putting his hands in his pockets and ducking his head with a dimpled grin. "And I'm sure he'll think you look ravishing in anything."

"Promise?" she teased, shrugging off her robe and stepping into the dress, wriggling to get it up her legs faster and tapping her wand to zip it up.

"You don't need to take my word for it. I've never seen you look less than lovely."

She snorted. "You've seen me with greasy hair and morning breath."

"You say that as though it refutes my point," he said, his tone so genuine that it coaxed a smile from her that he couldn't see.

"I like the attempts to be charming," she complimented, pulling some sky-high heels from the bottom shelf and slipping her feet into them. She'd probably be the same height as him, but they made her legs look amazing. "You're taking this seduction thing pretty seriously."

"I like to think that I accomplish things I set my mind to."

She smoothed the dress over her thighs and fluffed her hair before stepping out. The way Klaus looked at her made every second of getting ready worth it. His eyes were dark, his lips slightly parted, and she resisted the urge to strike a bit of a pose as he let his eyes wander her figure. The heat of his gaze made her shiver, her hands shaking slightly from the anticipation she suddenly found growing in the pit of her belly. "You do look ravishing, sweetheart."

He didn't look too bad himself. The jacket of his muggle-style suit was draped over the back of the desk chair, his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows showing his toned forearms. She felt her teeth sink into her lip without thinking about it, was pretty sure that if she hadn't done it she'd be drooling. 

"Thank you. You look great, too."

He gave her a wicked dimpled grin that made her knees weak. "Thank you, love."

She watched as he pulled on his suit jacket and reached out without thinking about it to straighten his tie, freezing when her hands touched the fabric. He was looking at her in a way that made her blood heat, and she felt her cheeks pink as she determinedly looked away from his eyes, swallowing audibly. "Sorry, your...um...your tie was crooked."

She let her palm linger on his chest for a moment too long, but from the way she heard his breath catch, she doubted he had any complaints. "Shall we?" he asked, his voice low, practically a growl. She pressed her thighs together. 

"We shall."

His palm burned her waist through the thin fabric of her dress as he led her to the magical lifts, and they stepped on as soon as the doors opened.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his tongue dragging across his lips, and she felt heat rise in her cheeks. If he kept looking at her  _ like that _ , she wasn't sure she'd be able to resist him.

But no, she had to. She couldn't let him get in her head, her heart, or her pants (until they were ready for heirs, that is). He was charming, and he'd made it clear he wanted her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous. Klaus always had a plan, had  _ something  _ up his sleeve, and before she let herself get attached to him, she needed to make sure that she was okay with whatever his ultimate goal was. Right?

Right.

* * *

"This is so nice," Caroline said happily, stretching before sinking down on the lawn chair beside him. "I didn't realize how much I needed a vacation."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

She hummed, stretching before closing her eyes and relaxing against the lawn chair pillow, her hair splayed around her face.

He couldn't resist the urge to watch her as she sunbathed, likely having put sun-resistant potion on her skin to allow it to tan without burning. She seemed to be peaceful, and he waved his hand when she wasn't looking to summon his sketchbook. His fingers were itching to capture the way her lashes laid against her cheek, the way her hair practically glowed in the sunlight. He sketched her on and off, occasionally stopping to sip a drink or message Marcel on his mobile floo, the sun making its way slowly across the sky. 

"You're staring," she said softly after an hour or two, cracking an eye open to look at him. 

"I'm sketching," he corrected. "You're a lovely muse."

She scoffed, putting her arms above her head to stretch and arching her back before laying back down on the lawn chair. "I didn't know you did art."

"One of my many talents."

She hummed, pushing her sunglasses up her nose and turning on her side to look at him, her cheek cushioned on her upper arm. "Can I see it?"

He debated saying no, but Caroline was the curious sort, and quite resourceful. He had no doubt that if she was sufficiently motivated she'd easily get ahold of his sketchbook. He could always put wards on it, but that would just make her even more curious. It would be best to build trust now.

He held out the book for her to take, their fingers brushing as she took it. He could see her look at him through her sunglasses before she looked down at the book. She kept her expression determinedly neutral, but she couldn't hide the slight widening of her eyes and the twitch of her lips. "This is good," she said simply, passing it back. "I like it."

"Thank you, love."

She stretched again, her back arching, and he took the opportunity to let his eyes rove her figure while she looked the other way. 

"What do you want to do for dinner?" 

She perked up, turning to look at him with an excited grin that was infectious enough to make him smile back. "I made reservations at the Phoenix Feather at seven. It's supposed to be amazing. They were completely full, so I had to name drop, but I think it'll be worth it."

"Name drop Caroline Mikaelson?" he teased, earning an exasperated look. 

"They know who I am," she muttered, shaking her head and reaching under the chair to grab a bottle of her sun protection potion and uncorking it.

"Need help, love?"

She scoffed, clearly about to reject his offer but seeming to rethink it when she caught sight of one of the other guests unsubtly eyeing them with interest from a few chairs over. He'd recognized him as a lackey of the de Martel's, and Caroline apparently recognized him as well. "Fine," she muttered, handing it over. "But keep your hands in appropriate places, please."

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything else, sweetheart. Consider it payback for your kind assistance a few full moons ago."

She scoffed, though he was gratified to see that her cheeks pinked slightly before she turned over hurriedly, cushioning her cheek on her hands and humming in contentment as he began to massage the potion into her back, rubbing his thumb against the knots he found for good measure. He remembered how her hands had wandered when she'd spread the healing balm on him mere weeks before. That was the moment he'd known that she was closer to being tempted to him than she was pretending.

"Is he still watching?" Caroline whispered, low enough that Klaus barely caught it.

Klaus checked with a subtle glance. "Yes."

He finished rubbing the lotion on her back and shoulders, handing her back the bottle when she turned back over to do her front and her legs, surprised when she sat up straight to peck him on the lips. He chased them with his, catching her lips in a deeper kiss, his hands landing on her waist. It was soft, sweet, his tongue brushing across her lower lip and coaxing out a soft gasp that he took advantage of, dragging his tongue across the backs of her teeth and eliciting a moan.

She buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him down slightly to bend over her, still moving her lips against his. At the unsubtle cough of the little old lady in the chair beside Caroline's, he pulled back slowly, tugging her bottom lip with his teeth as he did so, smiling at her soft gasp.

"For show," she whispered as he lingered close, their foreheads pressed together. 

"Of course, love," he said, giving her a dimpled grin and pecking her on the lips one last time before he pulled back. 

* * *

"Being married to you might not be so bad," she admitted softly, her legs tangling with his in bed. 

"Is that so?"

"Don't get smirky about it," she said, turning around in his arms to squint at him in the low light. "That's barely a compliment."

"I know. But it's an improvement."

"I guess it probably is, yeah," she said, wincing. "I know I haven't been the most welcoming person--"

"I understand why, love. You didn't ask for this. For me."

"No, but I knew I'd have to find a husband eventually. I guess you're not the worst one I could end up with."

He laughed softly. "I should hope not."

"Don't get complacent, though," she warned, tucking her head under his chin. "Just because you don't totally suck doesn't mean I like you."

He chuckled, his hand moving to trace up and down her spine, the other resting easily on her waist, just above her hipbone. "I wouldn't dream of it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you had any favorite bits of dialogue or favorite scenes/snippets. Reviews inspire me and help me write more. I have added an extra chapter after this one, so hopefully I'll get it done by next Tuesday. I have a new (very busy) job and an unexpected family emergency/thing that I need to deal with, so this week will be busy. Your reviews always brighten my day, so thank you to those who leave them.


	8. Killing Me Slow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to honestgrins for her encouragement. This is an "extra" chapter that wasn't originally planned, so it's not beta'd or looked over. I hope it reads well anyway ;)

"Good evening," Klaus greeted, lingering by Bill's office door until the man waved him in.

"Klaus! Good, good. I've been expecting you."

Bill didn't get up from his desk, something that made Klaus chafe a bit until he caught sight of the walker by the desk and remembered that the man was growing more frail by the day. He walked over and set the three vials of medicine Caroline had asked him to bring on the desk and set it down before sinking into the chair across from Bill at the desk. "Caroline asked me to bring these to you, since you summoned me."

He watched as Bill nodded, his hands shaking slightly as he inspected all three vials before drinking them. He couldn't blame the man. Being poisoned was quite possibly one of his worst nightmares, and not knowing who'd done it would have made him even more paranoid than Bill appeared to be. He supposed that Bill knowing he'd die no matter what would lower the threshold for paranoia, but it was still a surprise to see him so easily drink the medicine he'd brought.

Bill folded his hands in front of him on the desk, his eyes piercing as he surveyed Klaus, scanning him up and down. "How was the honeymoon?"

"Good. I believe Caroline enjoyed herself."

"Good, good," Bill said, sounding a bit distracted. "And you've talked over your job at the company with her, then?"

"She's less opposed than she used to be, though I'm sure if she had her way she'd procure a time-turner and do everything herself."

Bill chuckled, his laugh quite similar to Caroline's when she allowed him to see it. "You're right. I have no doubt she would," he said, waving his wand at the cabinet to make bourbon pour itself into two tumblers and levitating them to the desk, offering Klaus one. He took it, taking a sip, watching as Bill did the same. He'd thought that the man wasn't allowed to drink. "One of my indulgences," Bill said, answering his unasked question. "I trust you won't tell my daughter?"

"It'll remain between us," Klaus promised, privately wondering why on earth he'd tell Caroline. It wouldn't do to make her even more frazzled about the man's health. Watching Caroline fret over her father had been a bit stressful for him, truth be told. He so disliked seeing her in any kind of pain, and the dwindling time she had left with her father was wearing on her. He'd sworn to himself he'd find the killer, would deliver her their head, or at least make them disappear.

He had his suspicions of who it was, and after meeting Damon at the wedding, he was at the top of the list.

"I wanted to speak with you a bit more about your position."

"What about it?"

"Caroline may have informed you of this, but it's likely that she'll take up the mantle of what I've done, which is the general management and organization, deciding which way the company is going big picture, and such. You'll be taking on many of her previous responsibilities. Parties, fundraisers, signing the checks so that she doesn't have to go through them, and networking with buyers and suppliers. You'll also likely have to do some things that she hasn't been responsible for." He paused, glancing at the liquid in his glass as it sloshed a bit before setting it down, steepling his fingers in front of him. "In my...state, I haven't been able to track down vendors who have disappointed us or other...enemies. That will be your job, as well. Caroline's never been one for mess, and I'd prefer that she keep her hands relatively clean. You understand, I'm sure?"

"I do," Klaus said quietly, already thinking how lovely Caroline could look taking care of things herself, how pretty she'd look with their enemies' blood smeared on her cheek before she kissed him.

Bill paused for a moment, clearly weighing his words before he spoke again. "I'd prefer to be blunt with you, Klaus. After all, I don't have the luxury of time to dance around my thoughts."

"Of course."

"I know that you're dangerous," Bill said quietly. "Caroline's a good judge of character, and when I told her I'd arranged you for her match, it was obvious that she was scared."

"I would never hurt your daughter," Klaus said easily, taking a sip of brandy as he weighed his words. "You needn't worry about that."

_Not unless she allowed it._

"Good," Bill said with a sharp nod. "But I want you to promise that you'll protect her. That you'll do everything you can to keep her safe. Due to the nature of our business, her life is always at risk in some way or another. I know that I can't control anything after my death, but I can hope you'll keep your word."

"I will do everything in my power to ensure she is kept safe. I can give you my word on that."

That was, after all, what the horcrux was for. He simply couldn't risk the possibility of Caroline being taken away from him. He would keep her by his side, safe and sound. Forever.

* * *

"Aurora," Klaus greeted, dipping his head in a nod. Her glossed lips pulled into a slight smirk as her eyes darted between him and Caroline, her spine straight.

"Hello," she said. her tone sickeningly sweet. "It's nice to see you. It's been a while."

"How have you been?" Caroline asked, the coolness of her tone unmistakable despite her clear attempt to remain neutral.

"Oh, just fine. You?"

"We're doing well," Klaus said, tugging Caroline closer to him, his arm snug around her waist, hand resting on her hip.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to the wedding," Aurora said without sincerity. "I had pressing matters to attend to."

"Not a problem at all. Seriously."

Aurora had never been good at hiding what she was thinking, and it was clear that she was offended.

"I do hope you enjoyed your honeymoon? Where did you end up going?"

"We went to Oahu," Caroline said, clearly reluctant to share anything with Aurora. "It was really romantic."

"Oahu? Just one city?"

"It's not a city. It's an island."

Aurora waved her hand dismissively. "Right. Well, I'm sure you had fun on your trip. Remember when you took me to _Paris_ , Klaus? Just the two of us? It was so romantic."

"I do recall," he said coolly. He felt Caroline's hand tighten around his for a fraction of a second before she relaxed. He frowned. Was she _jealous_?

Excellent.

"We decided against Paris because of the cliche of it," Caroline said, her tone saccharine. "I'm sure we'll make it over one day, but we wanted to have some time to relax by ourselves, you know? We went to some nice dinners and hung out a lot by the pool. Klaus gives the most _amazing_ massages."

"Oh, I _know_ ," Aurora purred, and he knew what she was about to say before she even began to talk. "I used to get them as rewards."

Klaus pressed his lips together in a thin line. Her rewards had never been anything so intimate, and he could tell she was trying to bait him into correcting her.

Caroline frowned, clearly about to ask Aurora what the _hell_ she was talking about, but he interrupted before she could, hoping to smooth things over, extending bait to Aurora he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "The company is looking into contributing to your family's foundation, but I'm afraid I don't remember much about it. Would you mind giving me a bit of a refresher over appetizers while Caroline touches base with some of our suppliers?"

Aurora's eyes lit up at the prospect of getting him alone, as he knew they would, and she nodded eagerly. "I'd love to."

Caroline seemed suspicious, likely because of the abrupt subject change, but she allowed him to kiss her on the cheek and promised to catch up with him in a few minutes. He gestured for Aurora to precede him to the appetizer table. Crisis averted.

"So, what do you want to know?" Aurora asked softly, looking up at him through thick lashes with wide, faux-innocent eyes.

"Whether you want your head on a pike in the middle of Diagon Alley," he said coolly.

She froze for a moment before relaxing, a mischievous smile growing on her face. "Oh, she doesn't _know_?"

He debated giving her a harsh 'not your business, love', but Aurora would take that as a no and likely corner Caroline to inform her. Best to be vague and keep an eye on her for the rest of the night to ensure she didn't wander too close to his wife. "I hardly think it's a subject you should stick your nose in, love," he said, softening his language slightly but punctuating it with a warning glance that should have made Aurora's blood run cold had she any sense.

Unfortunately, Aurora had never been one for common sense.

"Aww, Klaus, what's a good bit of gossip between ex-lovers?" Aurora cooed. "If she's as frigid as I remember, you're free to call me up once she's popped out her heir and spare for a little fun."

"Never speak about Caroline again. I'm perfectly content to rip out your tongue and make it look like you had an accident," Klaus said softly. "Don't test me, Aurora. You won't like the result."

Aurora pouted, her brows pulled into a deep frown. "Don't be mean, I'm just-" she cut herself off abruptly when she saw the look on his face, his magic unfurling around him to lick at the edges of her skin, burning it slightly.

"Don't test me," he repeated, his voice soft. "I'm even less likely to be lenient as I was when you were warming my bed."

He smirked when Aurora looked suitably uncomfortable, her eyes growing wider as she seemed to realize that she was in actual danger, and he was about to tell her to go mingle _away from them_ when Caroline appeared by his shoulder.

"Hey, babe," she said brightly, her nails digging into his skin like a brand when she touched his arm, the height of her heels allowing her to easily press her lips to his stubbled cheek. "Having fun?"

From anyone else he would have bristled at the petname, likely accompanying his displeasure with a jinx thrown in their direction, but coming from Caroline it felt different. She was marking him for Aurora's benefit, staking her claim and making it perfectly clear where things stood. She wouldn't know this, but Aurora had attempted to call him 'darling' exactly once, in private, and it hadn't turned out well for her. The jealousy and rage he could see building in the pretty former pastime's expression at being replaced was satisfying in a schadenfreudian way, and the fact that it was Caroline doing the reminding was deeply satisfying.

"Just catching up," Klaus said easily, knowing Caroline would deduce from Aurora's expression exactly what had happened.

"Well, if you're done, I have someone I want you to meet," Caroline said, her hand sliding down his arm to lace her fingers with his, squeezing lightly.

"Oh, we're done here," Klaus said softly, glancing at Aurora, who looked a bit shaken at what had just transpired. He couldn't resist bending to press a light kiss to Caroline's lips before telling her to lead the way.

"What did she mean by rewards?" Caroline asked quietly once they'd wandered to a more private area.

"She was just trying to rile you up," Klaus said easily. It wasn't a lie, not really.

"Yeah, I could tell, but it's a weird way of doing it. Bragging about you giving her massages? Who cares."

He bit back his urge to point out that she clearly did care, that she was _jealous_ and that it was incredibly satisfying. That might set them back, and he wanted to her to realize she desired him on her own. No need to bring out her stubbornness, as much as he did enjoy it.

"Don't let her get to you, love."

"I'm not," Caroline said sharply. "She just sucks anyway, and I don't like her."

"Of course, sweetheart."

"And don't give any money to her charity. I don't want a single sickle of mine in her hands."

"As you wish, love," he said, stroking her knuckle with his thumb, trying to soothe her ruffled feathers.

She huffed, tugging her hand away. "Let's just go talk to some vendors so we can leave."

* * *

"Wine?"

"Yes, please," Caroline said, holding out her hand for the glass Bonnie handed her and wriggling her fingers, excited to decompress.

"Enzo?" Bonnie offered, holding up the wine bottle.

"Better not. Technically I am bodyguarding."

"I'm not about to get attacked in Bonnie's house, Enzo," Caroline said with a roll of her eyes. "You can totally have some wine."

"And if I escort you back even the slightest bit inebriated, your new husband would object, I think."

"Don't worry, I'd save you from the big scary Lord," Caroline teased, taking a sip of her wine and scooting over so that Bonnie could sit beside her with her own. "He mostly listens to me for some reason. It's refreshing."

Bonnie snorted. "Maybe because he's obsessed with you."

Caroline shrugged. "I guess. But it worked out."

"Indeed it did," Enzo said, beginning to put his feet on the coffee table and recoiling at Bonnie's harsh glare. "We can just scourgify the smudges."

"Not on my antique coffee table you can't," Bonnie said firmly. "And Kai will lose his mind if you ruin anything."

"I suppose I'd best save you from your own little psychopath," Enzo said airily, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Honestly, I don't understand why you two can't see normal blokes. I have friends who are nice, you know. I could set you up."

Bonnie held up her hand and wriggled her fingers, pointedly drawing attention to the diamond on her finger. They hadn't started to plan their wedding yet, but Caroline was _totally_ pumped to be a kickass maid of honor.

"And I'm already married," Caroline reminded him, trying to keep her tone upbeat. "And Klaus has made it clear that he's into monogamy."

"And have you two sealed the monogamous deal, then?" Bonnie asked, her eyebrows raised. Caroline pressed her lips together, glaring at her friend as she sipped her wine.

"Not yet," she said slowly. "I'm...I don't know. He definitely would, but I guess I'm not ready."

"Not ready?"

Caroline sighed, her eyes fixed on her glass as she swirled the wine around gently. "I mean, we'll have to eventually, obviously. But I guess I'm worried if I do, I'll like, catch feelings."

Bonnie grimaced. "Yeah, that could be a problem. He's not exactly a cuddly bunny."

"To play devil's advocate," Enzo began slowly, pressing on at both girls shooting him their own brand of 'what the fuck' looks. "You are married. I don't see why having feelings for your husband would be a problem, gorgeous. Isn't that the ideal scenario?"

Caroline shrugged, her lips pressed together. "I mean, if he wasn't a sociopath, yeah. But he'll never have feelings for me the way I might for him. I don't want to open myself up to him using me, you know? He already basically is for my money. I don't want to be a pathetic little girl who _pines_ that he uses whenever he wants, you know?"

"I hardly think you'll pine," Enzo said dryly. "And from what I've seen, he's rather fond of you."

"He's just performing," Caroline said grumpily. "No one's supposed to know we're arranged, remember?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said slowly. "I mean, he was pretty into you at school."

"Yeah, in a creepy way! He nearly _murdered his roommate_."

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Enzo drawled.

Caroline huffed. "I mean, you're literally suggesting I jump into bed with a guy who could never have feelings for me. I'm terrible at casual, you know that."

"To be clear, I'm not. I think he's dangerous," Bonnie said. "But, as I've said before, I still don't think a marriage qualifies as a casual relationship."

"To be fair, from what I've seen, your concerns aren't _entirely_ baseless," Enzo said, exchanging a significant look with Caroline. "He's quite short with staff. It's _possible_ I've seen a few jinxes nearly miss, and I suspect they missed on purpose."

"Ugh. I should have expected that. I'll have a talk with him."

"I think the fact that you're not surprised by him assaulting his employees tells you everything you need to know about whether you should sleep with him," Bonnie said firmly. "There's no reason to put yourself in that situation. I know you've said he insisted on monogamy, but this is your choice. Tell him to get a mistress if he wants to get some."

Caroline resisted the urge to grimace. After the party with Aurora, just the thought of someone else touching Klaus had started to make her skin crawl. She could admit, at least in the privacy of her own thoughts, that she'd been a little bit jealous. A little bit _possessive_. And she'd been telling herself it was only natural. Sure, she didn't like Klaus or anything, but he was still her husband. Emphasis on _hers_. She'd never liked sharing, and the idea of giving Klaus the okay to open their relationship, especially when he didn't seem to _want_ to, felt weird. Weird in a bad way.

"Why are you making that face, gorgeous?"

Maybe she hadn't done enough to shield her thoughts. Must be the wine. "I'm not making any faces," Caroline said sullenly, taking another sip anyway. In for a knut, in for a galleon.

"Care, do you think you might like him already?" Bonnie asked gently.

"No," Caroline lied. "Absolutely not."

"You're sure?" Enzo asked, finally reaching to splash the last bit of wine in the bottle into his glass.

Caroline tried to look like she suddenly found the engravings in the coffee table fascinating, studiously avoiding Enzo's gaze. "Yes. I don't want to. He's dangerous."

"Well then, if you don't feel safe or you don't want to have sex with him, obviously don't," Bonnie said firmly. "I'm not advocating sleeping with him when you don't want to. I just feel like from what you've said, you don't _not_ want to, especially after what you told me about the honeymoon."

Caroline bit her lip before taking another sip of wine, painfully aware that she needed to pace herself lest her lips get _too_ loose. Bonnie and Enzo were her best friends, but they couldn't know everything. "Yeah. It was really...nice. To have a vacation, I mean. Even if it was with him. I haven't changed my mind about who he is, but I definitely trust him more," Caroline admitted.

"Well, maybe play it by ear?" Bonnie suggested.

"If I play it by ear I might not last much longer, honestly."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, we're sleeping in the same bed, so we're cuddling all the time," Caroline said with a shrug, trying to sound casual.

Bonnie looked thoughtful, setting her wine glass on the table and leaning back to look at Caroline, her expression understanding. "Well, maybe you don't need to last. Honestly, as much as I don't trust him, he seems to have a soft spot for you."

"So you _are_ advocating sleeping for him."

"No, _we_ are advocating doing what makes you happy, even if it's with Klaus Mikaelson," Bonnie said, glancing at Enzo with a significant, prompting look. "Right, Enzo?"

"Right," he agreed.

"But if anything happens that makes you uncomfortable, call me," Bonnie added, her expression serious. "Promise?"

Caroline smiled in spite of herself. Bonnie's Hufflepuff loyalty always made her feel all warm and fuzzy. "Promise."

Enzo opened his mouth to respond, probably to echo Bonnie's sentiments, but he was interrupted by a popping sound outside the door, a key turning in the lock a moment later. Kai walked in, snowflakes still clinging to his hair. He gave Caroline and Enzo a nod, reaching to unclasp his robe and hang it up by the door. "Hey."

"Hey," Bonnie said, her face lighting up. Kai walked over to bend and press a kiss to the top of her head, his hand settling on her shoulder for a moment, his thumb brushing against her collarbone. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Just fine, Bon. Having a party?"

"Just a wine night," Caroline said, holding up her glass. "You can join us?"

"He was planning on flooing Jo tonight," Bonnie said brightly. "They're trying to reconcile now that she's pregnant."

Kai didn't look happy at the reminder, but he murmured an affirmative and bent to give Bonnie another kiss. "Once the call's over, I can pick up dinner if Caroline and Enzo are staying?"

Caroline sighed, staring longingly at the half-full bottle of wine on the coffee table. "I think I probably have to go deal with work stuff."

"Ah, gorgeous. Take one night off," Enzo wheedled. "It'll be fun to relax a bit. Catch up."

"Fine. Let me just floo Klaus and let him know I'll be home late," Caroline said, standing up.

"Aww, worried he'll worry?"

Caroline huffed, shooting a playful glare at her best friend. "He gets weird about it, okay? Probably thinks that I'll get assassinated or something. Do you mind if I use your fireplace?"

"Yeah, totally!" Bonnie said, waving her off. "Floo powder's on the top shelf."

Caroline nodded, walking over to the fireplace and throwing some of the glittering powder inside, getting on her knees to stick her head in and saying her floo address clearly.

She coughed at the gross spinning sensation of her head, shutting her eyes until she felt stable again. She opened her eyes to the chimes that indicated that someone was putting in a floo call. Jenna poked her head in after a few seconds, smiling when she saw Caroline. "Hi, Caroline. Do you want me to get Klaus?"

"Oh, if you can give him a message for me, that would be great. I don't want to bother him."

"Not a problem, sweetheart," Klaus said, moving past Jenna in the doorway to walk inside, bending down to look at Caroline in the fire. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah. Just calling to let you know I'll be at Bonnie's until late. Enzo and I are probably going to have dinner here as well."

His lips tightened for the barest fraction of a second before he seemed to force herself to relax. "Well, enjoy your dinner then, love."

She frowned, a bit put off by his reaction. "Everything okay?"

"Just fine, sweetheart," he said, his tone warm, though she still felt like something was weird about it. "Floo if you need me to come apparate you home."

"I won't get that drunk," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. "But yeah, I'll let you know if I need help."

"Good. See you when you get back, sweetheart."

"Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"I'll likely be up late anyway," he said, looking a bit irritated. "I have to go take care of something, love. Stay safe."

"Will do," she said, frowning as he left the room again and pulling her head out of the fireplace.

Weird.

* * *

Klaus was still awake when she came home, lounging in their bed in only his boxer briefs with his legs crossed in front of him, looking through a binder she recognized as having some information about their suppliers for some of the darker potions ingredients. She took a second to admire him, her slightly tipsy brain and Bonnie's gentle nudging having done the trick to make her want him just a little more (or maybe just letting herself acknowledge it). He looked up, his lips pulling into a smirk that made her let out a soft scoff. She dropped her purse on a nearby armchair and went to the walk-in closet to change into some soft cotton pajamas. She could feel Klaus's eyes on her when she emerged and went into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she carefully dragged the tip of her wand across her face to remove her makeup. "How was your night?"

"Just fine," Klaus said. She heard the soft thump of him setting the binder on the bedside table. "Thought it would be best to familiarize myself with some of the more complicated aspects of my new role before I begin next week."

"Right," Caroline said softly before splashing water on her face and dabbing it with a towel, trying to come up with more small talk so that she could transition into why he'd been so weird earlier. "Well, I'm glad that you're taking it seriously."

"Did you think I wouldn't?" he asked, his eyes on her as she made her way to the bed, moving over slightly to give her room to sit down. "I'd thought I'd been quite clear about my desire to assist with the day to day operations as more than the figurehead for the philanthropy arm."

"It's not that I thought you wouldn't," she said slowly, careful to keep a foot of space between them. She didn't want any tipsy touching accidents. "I don't know. Never mind. How was your night?"

"Quiet. Yours?"

"It was good! It was nice to catch up with my friends. We went through a bottle or two of wine before Kai talked us into firewhiskey."

"Ah, that explains the slight slurring," he teased.

She huffed. "It's not that bad. I'm fine," she said, reaching to play with a stray thread sticking out of the comforter, focusing on it so that she wouldn't have to look at his face. "You seemed upset when I called you earlier. Did I interrupt something?"

"Upset?" he echoed, his tone mild, though there was enough of an edge for her to know that she was on the track to _something_.

"Yeah. I don't know. Irritable, maybe?"

"You didn't interrupt anything of note, love."

"Then why-"

"I just got some bad news from Marcel. Nothing to fret over."

"Bad news?"

"We've been working together to try to locate an artifact for the last year or two. We'd gotten close to a lead, but it disappeared on us, unfortunately."

"An artifact?" Caroline asked, perking up. "I can probably help with that. My contacts span a ton of different specialties. What were you looking for?"

"That would take the fun out of it, sweetheart. I do enjoy the hunt," he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye with a smirk. She rolled her eyes, scooting down to lay her head on her pillow and maneuvering herself under the covers.

"Yeah, okay," she said, not bothering to keep the grumpiness out of her voice at his brush-off. "Well, if you ever decide to tell me the truth, let me know."

"Now, love. Don't be like that," he said softly, reaching to wind a curl around his finger. "If it was important, I'd tell you. I promise."

"Yeah, like you told me about being a werewolf?" she asked dryly.

"I would have told you by the next moon," he said, and she could tell that he hadn't expected to have to go on the defensive. "It's nothing to do with you, sweetheart."

She hummed to show she'd heard, satisfied that even if she couldn't get him to fess up to whatever mischief he was up to she'd at least gotten him to admit he was in the wrong.

She relaxed a bit when he waved his wand to turn the lights out and got under the covers himself, the heat and scent of him close enough to make her crave his touch.

She closed her eyes and deepened her breathing, feigning sleep until she'd waited for what felt like long enough before wriggling closer and letting him pull her into his arms, his chin tucked against her shoulder.

Her husband was a secretive dick, but at least he made an excellent wintertime space heater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Did you have any favorite parts or scenes? Pieces of dialogue? Any predictions? I'm so excited to hear what you think.


	9. Summer's a Knife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a few extra days. I've been busy with the aforementioned new job, family emergency, and general disinclination to do anything productive. Thank you to Morgan for her encouragement and brilliant beta work. I hope this is worth the wait ;)

Caroline waited impatiently for ten minutes after Klaus left to make sure that he wouldn't come back for something he forgot before letting out a deep breath and going to the closet to grab her vibrator. She'd been looking forward to him being occupied for an entire evening for weeks, needing to let herself have something longer than a stolen few minutes in the bath, trying to keep herself from coming to his imaginary touch.

The honeymoon had basically blown away any hopes she'd had of holding off on having sex for much longer. The loaded glances he gave her were what fantasies were made of, and she simultaneously hated it and was desperate for more. She kind of loved the way his eyes lingered on her, the pure want in his eyes. She'd never seen him look that way at anyone else, even when he'd dated other girls at Hogwarts. It made her feel powerful.

She knew it was kind of ridiculous to like that, to want Klaus of all people to want her. Considering that she was stuck in an arranged marriage, she wasn't exactly going to say  _ no  _ to a husband who looked like he wanted to tear off her clothes whenever he laid eyes on her.

Since their honeymoon, and even before it if she was honest with herself, he always seemed to work his way into her fantasies somehow. Whatever person she'd been determined to imagine touching her always seeming to melt away to dimples and stubble. She blamed the fact that her thoughts seemed to stubbornly drift in a Klaus-related direction on his proximity and the fact that he filled out his dress robes so well. She wished that she had more interactions with hot men that weren't him, because that might solve her problem. Ugh. Why had she agreed to monogamy again?

And knowing what his lips felt like pressed to hers had just made it worse. The memories of the parties and events they attended together had affected her so much that she still could practically feel his hands burning into the skin of her waist. Her thoughts still drifted to the first party they’d been to where they’d danced and he’d kissed her in front of the whole room, fantasies of a much different ending to that night filling her brain. It should have been a short kiss, a chaste one, but she'd deepened it without thinking about it, suddenly aching for his touch, and now all she could think about was how she wished he’d interrupted their heated argument after with kisses that felt just as good.

And now she was safe to think about how things could have gone differently in the privacy of her bedroom.

Klaus wasn't home. He was off at some party thrown by one of his "friends," and he warned her not to wait up, looking annoyed as he prepared his things to leave. She knew he didn't like the balls that his associates (read: minions) threw. They were always ostentatious, the hosts more concerned with impressing their guests with their wealth than anyone actually having fun. The food was expensive but mediocre, the entertainment always the newest hit band that Klaus wasn't fond of. He usually made an appearance and then came home relatively early, but he'd mentioned that the Greengrasses had a friend they wanted him to meet who might have information on whatever project he was working on, so he'd decided to stay to interrogate the man for information about whatever secret project Klaus was working on. From what she understood, the man rarely came to events, and this was Klaus's chance to secure him as a contact.

It was also her chance to get a longer session of "me" time without worrying about being caught.

She massaged her breasts, gasping softly as she pulled at her nipples before letting one hand wander down to rub her clit, spreading her legs wide to get a pleasurable ache. She closed her eyes, imagining that Klaus was watching her with heated eyes, stroking his cock in a chair nearby as he drank her in. Her breathing quickened as she grew wetter, hooking two fingers in her pussy and rolling her hips against them to make them brush against her walls just the way she liked. She tapped her vibrator with her wand, murmuring the settings under her breath and positioned it at her entrance, lifting her hips to let it slide in and out of its own accord and setting her wand aside. It was enchanted to feel like skin, hot and slick inside of her as it slid in and out, vibrating gently to build her up.

She lifted her legs, drawing them back to allow the toy to get deeper as she tugged at her nipples, her hips beginning to roll frantically against the toy as it picked up its pace. She imagined it was Klaus's cock filling her over and over. He'd whisper how good she felt, how pretty she was when she moaned for him. She could feel her high building as the vibrator sped up, though she knew she'd never tip over the edge without a toy or her finger on her clit, and she'd done a spell to keep herself from coming without the counterspell just to be sure.

No, this was about teasing herself. She'd always liked edging, drawing it out until she couldn't take another moment, and she had enough time to indulge herself now.

Merlin, it felt so  _ good _ .

She knew she was being a little loud, but her and Klaus's wing of the mansion was enchanted to silence any sounds. No one would dare bother her when she was having some time alone. She had to admit that the thought of Klaus walking in on it was a little hot, and all she could think about once  _ that  _ thought had trickled into her brain was the way his eyes would darken, his lips parting slightly as he drank her in. She let herself let go, arching her back and pressing her palms to the backs of her thighs to pull them even closer to her chest, to enhance the twinge of pain she needed to build herself higher.

She didn't know how long it had been since she'd begun, the haze of pleasure making her lose track of time, but she knew that her hair was sticking to her forehead, her muscles aching as she writhed against the toy as she imagined Klaus fucking her hard and fast, growling her name. She was about to reach for her wand to cast the counterspell and let herself tip over the edge when she heard the bedroom door open.

She let out a squeak of surprise grabbing her wand to stop the vibrator and pulling the covers up to her chin, her eyes wide. Klaus was standing in the doorway, his lips parted slightly, eyes dark with lust. "Caroline," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Get out!" she said, probably a bit too loudly to be reasonable. She could feel her face heat and was fairly sure she was growing tomato-colored even as she covered her face with her hands and waited for the floor to swallow her, waiting for the door to close. She was breathing hard, her orgasm so close, but she wasn't sure she could tip over the edge knowing that Klaus was  _ right there _ .

Or, really, she was worried it would be too easy to. That she'd find it hot.

She got out of bed, grabbing some cotton shorts and a tank top and tapping her vibrator to clean it, sticking it back in her bedside drawer where it belonged before clearing her throat. "I'm decent. You can come in now," she called.

Klaus entered, looking slightly more put together, smirking as he closed the door behind him. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his eyes wide with faux innocence undercut by his wicked smile.

"Until you interrupted," she said, deciding to not bother denying it.

"Really? I was under the impression that I could have been welcome."

"What?" she snapped, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, suddenly worried. "Why?"

"You didn't realize you were moaning my name?" he asked, looking like the cat who caught the canary. " _ Screaming  _ it, in fact?"

"I hadn't," she bit out. "And you should knock next time."

"It's my bedroom too, love," he pointed out. She found herself annoyed that he'd made a reasonable point, huffing and grabbing her wand from the side table.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said shortly.

"Are you sure you don't want some help, love? You seemed close."

She was kind of mad that she was  _ seriously  _ tempted. She bit her lip, looking at him, assessing. "You want to?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. How could I deny my lovely wife anything?" he asked, though his tone was a bit too much on the mocking side for her tastes. That put her off. Annoyed her. An idea hatched in her mind, something that would hit his pride directly.

"What's in it for me?"

He raised his eyebrow. "An orgasm."

"That seems a little altruistic. That's all you want? To give me an orgasm? Nothing for yourself?"

He gave her a suspicious look (to be fair, he wasn't wrong to do it), seeming to consider her words. "Perhaps if I make you come on my tongue you'd be amenable to return the favor?"

" _ If  _ you make me," she said, raising her eyebrows.

He laughed. "I will, sweetheart."

"You're sure?"

His dimples cut into his cheeks. "Perhaps you've had partners who didn't know how to properly make you scream for them. I assure you I do."

She smirked. She hadn't done the counterspell to the spell that prevented her orgasm. "Do you think you can do it with a time limit?" she asked innocently, her eyebrows raised as she sunk back on their bed, playing with the drawstrings of her shorts.

"Five minutes at most," he promised. "Lie back for me, love."

She did, watching as Klaus got up on the bed and settled between her thighs, hooking his fingers around the waistband of her shorts and tugging them down her legs, bending to press light kisses below her belly button before following the trail of the fabric down her thighs. He watched her intently, searching for her reactions as he gently rubbed the sole of her foot with his thumb, pressing a kiss to her ankle before bending down, nipping at her inner thighs, his fingers tracing her hip bones. “Keep your legs spread wide for me, sweetheart.”

She nodded in answer, curling her fingers into the sheets in anticipation, just knowing that he was about to touch her making her ache. She frowned when he paused, his eyebrows raising for a moment before he continued pressing kisses to her skin, just shy of where she wanted his mouth.

"I'll just remove this pesky enchantment, shall I?" he asked, his lips brushing against her thigh as he pressed kisses to it.

"How did you know?" she breathed, her eyes wide.

Klaus was smirking at her, his eyes sparkling, his fingers still drawing lines across her hip bone. "About the spell?"

"Yes," she said, too curious about how Klaus had noticed it to bother being sorry that she'd cheated. They were both Slytherins. He could respect a good loophole.

"Enchantments have traces, sweetheart," he said, bending to press more kisses to her inner thigh as he spoke, dragging his teeth along her sensitive skin, making her shiver. "I do believe that's cheating unless I remove it, hmm?"

She huffed, figuring the longer she stalled the less time he'd have to follow through. "Fine."

He stroked her hip bones with his thumbs before bending down again to flick his tongue against her clit. Her hips shot up at the sensation, and she moaned loudly. "I thought....I thought you were going to take it off."

"I did," he said before continuing his lazy flicks of his tongue against her clit, humming softly in satisfaction when he moved down to her opening and found her soaking.

"Your wand is over there," she gasped, pointing in the vague direction of where it was sitting by his jacket, her eyes closing as her back arched.

"Look at me, love," he said, gently pinching the skin of her hip. She could see the smirk when she opened her eyes. "And I did it wandlessly."

She gaped at him, sitting up. "You can do  _ wandless magic _ ?"

It had to be a joke. Almost no one could accomplish even the simplest of spells wandless, let alone recognizing the charge of magic without a wand  _ and  _ undoing the unknown enchantment. From the way he was smirking though, it didn't seem like it. His hands continued to stroke her skin lazily, as though this was just a casual conversation rather than a life-altering realization. Klaus was much more powerful than she'd thought.

Much more  _ dangerous  _ than she'd thought.

He must have been able to see the fear on her face, because he pulled back slightly, his expression softer than she'd ever seen it with none of the normal harshness in his gaze, reaching to rub the knuckles under this thumb to soothe her, her fingertips still curled into the mattress. "I can," he said, his tone soft. Smooth. "But not to worry, love. I'd never hurt you. I promise."

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She shouldn't be turned on by the knowledge that Klaus could likely overpower her whenever he wanted, that with a simple wave of his hand he could destroy everything around her and leave her helpless, but instead he was kneeling between her thighs, the shine of some of her lingering arousal still clinging to his chin, looking at her like she was a goddess.

She knew it was probably stupid, but she believed him.

She took a shaky breath, sitting up against the pillows, her body beginning to calm down from the intense high he'd brought her to. "Okay," she whispered.

"I promise," he repeated, his tone firm and confident. "Now, may I?"

"You may," she said, watching as he bent down again, running the flat of his tongue around her entrance before swirling it around her clit, groaning softly, his hands squeezing the cheeks of her ass lightly, nails digging into the flesh, sending a spark of pleasure straight to her center. She could feel him building her up more quickly than she'd expected, and grumpily reflected that he really did seem to know what he was doing as she felt the telltale tense of her thighs, the pressure growing in her lower belly as her back arched again.

She came hard, her thighs quivering as she rolled her hips against his face, desperate for him to prolong her release. He continued to press the tip of his tongue inside of her as she rode out her high, watching her every movement with dark eyes. When she finally stilled, breathing hard, he crawled up to press his lips against hers, his tongue thrusting between her lips so that she'd taste herself.

Why did he have to be such a good kisser? Why did the world hate her this much? Or love her?

To be determined.

"Good, sweetheart?" he asked, sitting up with a smirk.

She nodded, her breathing still labored, though she bit her lip when she saw the want in his face, her eyes wandering down his body to see the bulge in his trousers.

He noticed where her gaze had gone, and he reached down to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Now, Caroline, I believe we had a deal?"

She nodded hesitantly. Truthfully, since she'd thought it was impossible for him to win, she hadn't thought about the consequences of losing. She flushed, biting her lip. She suspected that if she didn't want to, then Klaus wouldn't press, though he might tease her for trying to trick him. But a part of her wanted to, wanted to watch Klaus fall apart for her. Truthfully, knowing that she was playing with fire made it even hotter.

"We did," she agreed, her voice still thick with arousal. "How do you want me?"

His eyes lit up, his smirk widening into a predatory smile. "I get to choose?" he teased.

"Within reason," Caroline said, not wanting him to get  _ too _ crazy.

"What have you done before?"

She shrugged, sitting up against the headboard. "Tyler liked me on my knees," she said, fighting down the smile at the pure jealousy that flashed over Klaus's face, egging her on. "Matt liked to have me on my back while he fucked my mouth. Sometimes I even let him tie me up. For someone who looks so wholesome he liked a  _ lot  _ of stuff that involved creativity."

Klaus made a sound that sounded more close to an animal than a human, and Caroline raised a taunting eyebrow. "What? You asked."

"I did," he said quietly, his tone low and dangerous. "And did you like it?"

"Yes," she said, looking him straight in the eye, refusing to budge.

"And which did you prefer?" he asked softly, moving towards her. "I'll let you choose, shall I? Would you rather be kneeling at my feet while I pull your hair and fuck your mouth? Or you can lie on your back for me, your pretty lips wrapped around me while I pin your wrists. Your choice, sweetheart."

She kind of regretted baiting him now. The pictures he painted with his words sounded hot but would require her to put some trust in him.

"Or," he continued, smirking. "You could go back on our deal, I suppose. If you're the type to break your word. You were the type to cheat, after all."

She gritted her teeth. He knew that challenging her,  _ baiting  _ her, would get him what he wanted. Ugh, how did he already know her so well?

She weighed her options. She had no idea how long he tended to last, and the floor was hardwood, so it would make her knees hurt even with a cushioning charm. She could put a pillow underneath too, but it probably wouldn't help much. The bed gave her less room to maneuver, and it would give Klaus more control over her movement. If he wanted to draw it out, he could. Still though, it would probably be more comfortable. "Here," she said, sinking back down onto the pillows, propping her head up slightly and getting more comfortable. "But no tying me up. We're not at that point in our relationship yet."

His eyes lit up, his lips twisting into a smirk. "Yet?"

"You weren't exactly unclear about your feelings on monogamy," she pointed out, watching with greedy eyes as he began to unbutton his dress shirt, pouting when he stopped after only a few buttons and shifted forward, unbuckling his belt as he moved.

"True," he said. "I want to be the only one who sees you like this. Desperate and flushed. Wanting."

He tugged the belt out of the loops and tossed it aside, unbuttoning and unzipping the trousers. She watched him pull out his cock, stroking it a few times, letting his pants fall just enough to give her room. "Seriously? You're not even going to strip for me?" she asked, only half-teasing.

His lips twitched. "Unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a hurry, sweetheart."

"A hurry?"

"I forgot my wallet. True, I don't need it for much just to attend a party, but I did need a business card or two, so I came to retrieve it."

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? You're putting aside an important potential client for me to give you head? Are you insane?"

"How could I resist such a pretty distraction?" he teased.

"You do your job!" she said, shooting him an exasperated look. "That's the entire reason I married you."

His expression darkened for just a moment before it cleared, and she regretted what she'd said, missed the softer, teasing look he'd worn before. It still held affection, but it was different, somehow. Dangerous, but in a way that made her heart pound in anticipation rather than fear.

"Best be quick then, sweetheart."

He moved forward, raising an eyebrow at her until she took the hint, opening her mouth for him. She pulled out every trick she had to make him come fast, staring straight into his eyes and moaning around his cock as she sucked him, bobbing her head up and down his length and swirling her tongue around the head. She pulled back to give the head of his cock and open-mouthed kiss before flicking her tongue against the tip of him, watching with satisfaction as the cords of his neck grew tight, his eyes closing.

She moved forward so that he'd hit the back of her throat as his hips moved, attempting to reach to stroke the base of him with her hand, but Klaus quickly pinned her wrists down on either side of her head. His eyes flew open at the sound of her gag around him, and when he looked down at her she could have  _ sworn  _ that they flashed gold for just a moment before he spilled down her throat.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand when he pulled away, rolling off of her. "Like that, love?"

"Yeah," she admitted grudgingly, kind of annoyed at how much she had.

"We should talk tomorrow, then."

"About what?"

"As I've said, I'll never expect anything of you," he began. She tried not to snort. She was pretty sure he did, even if it was the expectation that she'd eventually give into his charms. "But I think I've made my expectations on monogamy clear, and you've agreed to them."

"Uh-huh."

"I wouldn't say no, if you are amenable, to working out some of the inevitable tension..." He trailed off, his eyebrows raised.

She was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but Bill Forbes hadn't raised a daughter who didn't read the contract all the way through.

"Clarifying question," she began, frowning when Klaus laughed. Her lips pressed together and she frowned. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm not laughing at you, love. You're just charming," he said, grinning at her unimpressed look.

"That might work with everyone who doesn't know you, but I'm not falling for your compliments," she warned before remembering what they'd been talking about and re-centering herself. "But you want to like, have casual sex, or whatever? With me?"

"I would hardly call it casual. We're married, after all. But yes, if you're willing to do that, then I'd like to."

"Okay," she said slowly, sitting up against the headboard, acutely aware of how his eyes drifted to her nipples pebbled against the thin fabric of her shirt when she did so. "Okay. I'm good with that."

If he was offering her an alternative to celibacy, she was here for it. They were presumably going to be together for the rest of their lives. She couldn't imagine a divorce would go well for their image, especially with the whole  _ heirs  _ thing.

"Good," he said with a grin before he slipped out of bed. He buttoned up his clothes again, waving a hand impatiently when he left the bed to repress the cloth even though they were already on his body as she watched, slack jawed.

"That's insane that you can do that," she said, watching him summon his briefcase and wand just by reaching out, and his wallet fell out of the jeans he'd been wearing earlier that day for him to catch. "Why haven't you been doing that?"

"I didn't want to scare you," he said quietly, glancing at her to see her reaction.

"And so you thought sex was the appropriate time for me to find out that you can do wandless magic?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't say  _ appropriate _ ," he allowed. "But you didn't seem to mind after the first few moments of shock."

It was annoying that he knew that.

"I guess."

"I'll be home late. Don't wait up, all right?"

"Okay," she said, half expecting him to bend to kiss her.

He didn't, just nodding at her. She tried not to be too disappointed. After all, their relationship was fake, wasn't it? Casual sex was one thing, but kissing goodbye? Unnecessary.

And then he turned on his heel and disapparated.

Through the state-of-the-art  _ very expensive _ apparition wards.

In. The. Middle. Of. Their. Bedroom.

God, now that she knew the extent of his power he was going to be  _ insufferable _ , wasn't he?

* * *

"You're sleeping with him?" Bonnie demanded, her eyebrows raised. Her head was floating in the fire, flames licking her ears as she sent Caroline an exasperated glance. "I thought you weren't?"

"That was two months ago and this is today," Caroline said defensively. "Look, I know that he's been weird about monogamy and stuff, but it turns out he's pretty freaking good at sex. And he makes me feel like...."

"Like?" Bonnie prompted, still looking unconvinced.

"Like I'm the only one he wants. The only one he'll ever want."

"That's great. I'm glad he makes you feel cherished," Bonnie said patiently. "That doesn't change the fact that he's an emotionless murderer."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I convinced you he was a murderer, remember?"

"Yeah. I recall that, but it seems like you forgot."

"Look, I do illegal stuff all the time. I've ordered more than a few hits and unless everyone who works for me suddenly becomes competent I'm sure I'll order more. The point is, he's really good at sex. Okay? Like,  _ really  _ good. I'd be missing out if I stopped. And I know he won't cheat on me."

"You can never know that."

Caroline sighed, glancing around again before lowering her voice, practically hissing the words when she leaned close to the fireplace. "He's a wolf."

"Like, in bed you mean? What does that even  _ mean _ ?"

"No. Like, he's a werewolf."

Bonnie's eyes went wide, her lips parting. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. Like, dead as Dumbledore, serious."

"Oh my god," Bonnie breathed, shaking her head. "I...Caroline, that's dangerous."

"It's not like he's home when he transforms," Caroline reassured her, somehow feeling protective of Klaus, despite him being the worst person ever. "Don't be lycanthropist, Bonnie."

"Is that even a word?"

"It is now."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, her head disappearing for a brief moment as though she'd dropped it back before she looked up again, running her hand through her hair, letting out a sharp breath. "So, what does that mean for you, then?"

"He's kind of possessive.  _ Really  _ into monogamy. I flirted with a potential contact at the first party we went to together and his anger was like, equivalent to someone who got stabbed in the back for the crown, or something."

"Caroline, that's a huge red flag."

"I mean, he's basically a walking red flag," Caroline pointed out. "You literally just reminded me that he's a murderer."

"Right. I mean, yeah..." Bonnie said, trailing off. 

"It's not that bad, Bon."

"Do you do anything else?"

"Like, other than sex?"

"Yes."

"No. It's basically the foundation of our relationship so far, all I can give you is the dirty details, but if you really want to know...?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "That good, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Caroline said, not bothering to fight down her smile. "Really good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Caroline said, nodding and trying not to blush. "I'll be fine, Bon. I promise. Just be ready for my ranting, if that's okay."

"Always!" Bonnie said quickly, shooting Caroline a small smile. "You know I'd never let you go through this alone."

"Thanks. I promise I'll let you know how everything's going enough that you'll get sick of hearing about it."

Bonnie swallowed, badly covering her clear concern. "Good. I want you to let me know. I was worried."

"Bonnie Bennett, you know I couldn't keep things from you if I tried. I promise everything will be okay."

For all of her enthusiasm, Caroline dearly hoped she was telling the truth.

* * *

"You're comfy," Caroline said slowly, her compliment turning into a yawn as she curled on her side, her cheek pressed against his chest. "I know we're doing like, a no-strings-attached marriage, but--"

"Caroline, sweetheart. I don't think there's such a thing as a no-strings-attached marriage," Klaus said. She didn't look at him, but she'd bet a million galleons he was smirking.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" she complained, pressing on before he could tell her that it was probably because it was true. "The  _ point  _ is, I know we're doing the whole 'no feelings' thing, but I wouldn't mind cuddling more, since you're making me share a bed and everything."

"I'm not making you do anything," he pointed out. "You could have said no, love."

She tried not to pout, twisting around to look at him with her best glare. "Yeah, but everyone needed to think we're in it for the long haul so that you can have authority over stuff for the business."

"Aren't we?"

"Aren't we what?"

"In it for the long haul?" he asked, his fingers fiddling with the hem of her slip. "I certainly thought we were."

"I mean, yeah. That's the point. We make sure that everyone knows that you're a Forbes--"

"Don't you mean that you're a Mikaelson?" he asked, the smugness practically dripping from his tone.

"That we're together," she amended, not wanting to concede the point. "And once we have kids it'll be even easier--"

She felt Klaus still beside her for a moment, his fingers pausing their light brushes against her thigh. "Children?"

Caroline frowned. "You do realize that we need an heir, right? Probably a spare, too?"

From the look on his face it was clear that he hadn't realized it, though he managed to blank his reaction quickly, stroking her spine with one hand, the other twirling her blonde curls between his fingers. She stayed silent as he processed, realizing that she'd just dropped a massive bomb on him, one she probably should have been more clear about before the wedding.

Why did he think they needed to get married if it wasn't about children? Some rom-com 'if you're not wedded I'll take you out of the will' bullshit?

She liked a good muggle film as much as the next person, okay?

"I'm a born wolf," Klaus said, looking at her warily. "Children of mine may have the gene."

"I know," Caroline said. "I don't think it'll be a problem. We can make sure they have access to wolfsbane, and I'm sure Hogwarts will still take them, especially with a generous donation."

"You're sure?"

"I would literally rather pop out ten fully formed werewolf babies Stuart Little style than let the company go to Camille."

Klaus laughed quietly. "Is she that bad?"

"Worse," Caroline muttered. "You met her at the wedding, remember? And I'm pretty sure Damon is literally Satan."

He hummed, his fingers stroking the soft skin of her hip just under the lace hem of her slip, clearly deep in thought. She let him think about it, leaning back to rest her head on the pillow, watching him as he processed.

"I thought you knew," Caroline said quietly, her heart jumping to her throat. "I'm sorry, I guess we should have talked about it."

"Do you want them? Children?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I never thought I'd be able to not have them. I guess I never really thought about it," she said, watching him carefully. "Do you? Want kids, I mean?"

He swallowed. "Honestly, love? Not particularly."

She couldn't say she hadn't expected that. "Sorry?" she offered, half-wondering whether he'd apparate out on the spot. His arms tightened around her though, pulling her firmly against his chest as though he didn't want her to leave. She felt his hand move to settle on the curve of her hip thumb tracing the line of her hipbone.

"I'm not," he murmured. 

"You aren't?"

He hummed, squeezing her hip lightly. "You have an early meeting tomorrow, love. Don't you?"

"Is that a hint?" she asked, knowing full well it was.

"We have time to talk more about it, love."

She gave him a suspicious glance but nodded slowly, relaxing back against the pillows. "But we'll talk about it more, obviously. Since we have to do it."

"Of course," he said, reaching to tuck a curl behind her ear. "Sleep, sweetheart."

* * *

Klaus had been turning the idea over and over in his head for hours as Caroline slept beside him, her leg wedged between his, face pressed against his chest, her breathing even. Children. He supposed he should have expected it. Caroline's family business was passed down the bloodline, after all. Still, he'd never wanted children, and it didn't sound like Caroline was all that enthusiastic about it either. He knew what it was like to grow up unloved without knowing what you did wrong to deserve your caretakers' ire, and if he had a child, he certainly didn't want it to grow up feeling that way.

He'd been waiting for Caroline for years, though. He'd spent countless days making one contingency plan after another to ensure that she wouldn't leave him, and he could not deny that a child would be a useful tool to keep her close. Still, perhaps it would be better to find a solution that wasn't as...time-consuming as raising a child would be.

Having children would require having sex, of course, and he'd worked hard through the initial parts of their relationship through the honeymoon to reel her in, to make her feel comfortable and entice her to touch him. When he’d finally succeeded in convincing her to give into her craving for him the week before, he’d known the first barrier was broken. Now he had to ensure that she gave him her heart as well as her body. She'd been responding well to his attentions, slowly warming to him to the point where when he complimented her, her cheeks would pink and her lips would curl in a soft smile that she clearly hoped he wouldn't see. He'd have to harness that, have to build on it. That would be hard to do when she was spending all this time holding herself back, but her wishes to try to have children would change things, as abhorrent as he found the idea.

He was possessive of her, wanted to claim her, and he knew that wolves often felt satisfaction from seeing their chosen mates swollen with their seed, tied to them irrevocably. When he pictured Caroline pregnant with his child, he did feel a twinge of it, but it was overshadowed by his reluctance to become a father.

No, he wanted to tie her to him out of choice. He wanted her to dig her nails into him because she felt as strongly for him as he did for her. To give herself to him.

Once he found the instructions for his pet project, the problem would be solved. With the gift of immortality, neither he nor Caroline would need to worry about something as silly as heirs. The real question was whether to tell Caroline. Or, rather,  _ when  _ to tell Caroline. It's not as though he could make a horcrux for her without her knowing about it.

That much he knew even without the instructions for the ritual.

Perhaps he'd put it off as long as possible. Once he made his, surely she wouldn't turn down one of her own, would she? She wouldn't be  _ thrilled  _ that he'd made one without asking, but ultimately he was doing it for them. For her.

She'd see that, he was sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you have any favorite lines or parts. How was the smut? The conversation about kids? Any comments? Concrit? Please let me know what you think!! Hopefully I'll see you guys with the next part on Tuesday.


	10. Cruel Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many of you know, I've been dealing with both a family emergency and a new job for the past few weeks. I'm sorry that my updates haven't been on schedule, but it's been a particularly rough month for me and even doing edits feels overwhelming. I promise I'll try to keep on time from now on, and I really appreciate you guys sticking with me. Thank you, as usual, to Morgan and Steph for beta work/readovers. I also want to emphasize that I am on a tumblr hiatus. If you want to see updates to this story when they come, please subscribe to it so that you get emails, since I won't be putting up notification posts. Thanks!

He knew something was wrong the moment he got through the front door. Caroline hadn't called him or reached out, but he just had a feeling that he couldn't shake. He was proven right when he went to find her in her office and found her red-eyed and raw-faced on the couch among a pile of used tissues with a blanket wrapped tightly around her, her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Caroline?"

"He's dead," Caroline said, her voice hollow. "Jenna found him this morning when she went to see what he wanted for breakfast."

"I'm so sorry, love."

She nodded, staring unseeingly at the bookshelf across the room. He waved his hand to vanish the tissues around her and sat beside her on the couch, reaching to tentatively rest his hand on her shoulder, unsure whether it was a good or bad thing when she immediately burst into tears.

Still, she let him pull her close, let him stroke her hair and whisper how sorry he was before he fell silent, just allowing her to sob into his chest. Caroline had always been an unmatched force of nature, an unstoppable beacon of light that he'd never dreamed could flicker in the face of loss. He'd known that she cared for her father, of course, but it had never occurred to him that she would try to bear the weight alone. For a brief moment he thought about asking why she didn't call, but he realized that he knew.

He should have anticipated it, should have realized that she likely wouldn't think to contact him. To trust him with her vulnerability. She thought he was cold and unfeeling, that his interest in her was solely for her influence, body, and money. He had no doubt that she believed that he wasn't invested in her happiness, that he only cared as far as logistics went. He swore to himself that he'd find a way to convince her otherwise. He wanted her to trust him, to come to him with her worries and fears and hopes. She was his _wife_. He'd _chosen_ her, and he liked to think that someday she'd choose to give herself to him too, even if it took some time after the rest of the world thought she already had.

"He was supposed to have until June," she sniffled. "I can't...I didn't think..." she trailed off, and he hesitantly began to rub her back, his arms securing around her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

She twisted in his arms to bury her face in his shoulder, sobs still making her shake even if she wasn't making a sound. He didn't like seeing her like this. It made him sick to know that there was a person still living who had directly caused her grief. He never wanted her to feel that again. He wouldn't allow it.

"I'll find him," Klaus found himself whispering.

"What?" Caroline asked, hiccuping even as she tried to get the words out. "Find who?"

"The murderer."

He'd been looking into it since his sources told him that Caroline's father was sick, even before he'd convinced Bill to agree to a match. His investigations hadn't turned up any names, which was immensely frustrating. He could feel deep in his bones that Damon Salvatore had something to do with it, but he had no proof, something he knew Caroline would need to be comfortable with him taking action.

Caroline sighed, turning to rest her cheek on his chest, her arms finding their way around his neck to anchor herself to him. "If we knew who they were, they'd be dead."

"I'll find him," Klaus repeated. "He'll never hurt you again. I promise."

"Could be a girl," Caroline pointed out, her lips twitching. "The killer, I mean."

"Perhaps," Klaus said. "No matter the identity, they will die by my hand. Painfully."

She let out a soft, watery laugh. "Okay. If you say so."

"I do," he murmured, stroking her hair. "Let me take you to bed, love."

She stiffened. "Seriously?"

"To sleep," he said exasperatedly. "You're clearly exhausted. I can take care of whatever work you need done today."

"It's fine," she protested. "I'll be okay. I need a distraction."

"We have dreamless sleep potions," he said, rearranging their positions so that she was in his lap. "I'll get you one and you can rest."

"Fine," she said after a second of thought. "I...Promise you'll take care of everything?"

"You have my word."

"Okay."

He apparated them to their bedroom, turning down the covers for Caroline as she kicked off her jeans and took off her bra before she crawled into bed, hugging the pillow to her chest. He was about to turn on his heel when she reached out, her fingers closing around his wrist. "Can you bring everything back up here?" she asked quietly.

"To stay, you mean?"

She nodded.

"Of course, sweetheart."

He brought her back her dreamless sleep potion and got into bed beside her to flip through her to-do list for the day, already making some notes on things he thought he could take care of without her expertise. Every now and then he couldn't help but glance to where Caroline was lying at his side, her chest rising and falling as she breathed deeply, her face still red and puffy from crying.

"I'll find them," he whispered, reaching to tuck a curl behind her ear.

She turned towards him in her sleep, reaching to find him, mumbling his name when her hand connected with his arm.

He smiled.

* * *

She could feel Klaus's arm securely wrapped around her waist, grounding her as she felt like the word was tipping beneath her. Bill had asked to be cremated, a common trend for the generation that grew up during the second war because of the fear of being brought back as an inferius, and they were doing the last part of the funeral before they took his body to fulfill his wishes. She was holding Steven's hand as he put on a brave face. She'd have to make sure that he was taken care of. Maybe she could buy him a warded house on the countryside?

The ceremony had just ended, and people were roaming around the backyard of the mansion where they'd decided to hold the funeral, all clad in black dress robes. It felt overwhelming, the idea of greeting and making small talk with people, many of whom she didn't even like, while in such a vulnerable position. She felt her throat had swollen to block anything she could have said, her hands shaking as she tried to smooth the front of her robes, shooting Klaus a grateful half-smile when he tugged her closer, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. "All right, love?"

"Yeah," she choked out. She swallowed audibly, squeezing her eyes shut for just a moment before she hardened her expression, straightening her spine. She wouldn't allow any of these people to see her weakness. She couldn't afford that, not when her position at the head of the family was so tenuous. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Only another hour or so, I think," Klaus murmured quietly enough that only she could hear, squeezing her hip, a soft groan of annoyance leaving his lips when he saw who was walking towards them. "Perhaps we can leave early."

She breathed out half a laugh at how quickly he'd grown to loathe Camille and Damon as much as she had before pasting a smile on her face and trying to look like she was okay with talking to them. "Hi. I'm happy you could come," she lied.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline," Camille said softly, her hand laid on Caroline's forearm. It took every piece of control she had not to jerk away. "I know this must be hard. How have you been holding up?"

"Fine," Caroline bit out, neatly stepping into Klaus's side to avoid the hug that Damon was obviously about to go in for. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. We would never want to leave you alone during this difficult time," Damon drawled, earning him a soft smile from Camille, who clearly still hadn't learned to differentiate sincerity from douchery. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"Oh, I'm sure you're busy with Zachary," Caroline said with a tight smile. "He was only born a month ago. I wouldn't want to make your life more difficult."

Camille looked like she wanted to protest, but Klaus stepped in, squeezing Caroline's waist lightly. "My apologies Camille, but we have more guests to attend to."

"But-"

"Thank you for your sympathies," Klaus said firmly, cutting her off and immediately steering Caroline towards Bonnie, which she was thankful for.

"Thanks," she said quietly, her lips twitching at Klaus's huff.

"If I never have to see them again I shan't be sorry," Klaus grumbled, his lips twitching when Caroline immediately teased him for his old-timey language. Later it occurred to her that he'd probably done it on purpose to distract her.

She exchanged hugs with Bonnie, who promised to come by later that week with muggle ice cream and elf-made wine, and checked in with a few of her father's business contacts, Klaus standing beside her in support as she thanked them for their sympathies and promised that she wouldn't slack on getting back to them on whatever they were working on.

"I'm so tired," Caroline whispered once they'd managed to get a moment to themselves lingering by one of the centerpieces on the edge of the event area, her words almost inaudible from how fiercely she was pressing her face against Klaus's shoulder to hide the tears she couldn't hold back any longer. "I want to go inside."

"I know, sweetheart," he said softly, his fingers carding through her hair, his other hand resting chastely on the small of her back. "We can leave, if you like. I'm sure that Jenna can get everyone ushered out properly within the hour. Or, if you don't want to leave it in her hands, I'm content to wait and get everyone out while you take a moment to collect yourself."

She sniffed, trying not to be embarrassed by her clogged nose and raw face, the way her undereyes felt scratchy. "You sure?"

"Of course, love," he said quickly, reassuring her. "Whatever you need."

She was tempted, the idea of a warm bed and a bit of dreamless sleep potion for a nap more than a little inviting, and Klaus reassured her that he'd take care of everything when she said so, his hand now making small circles on her lower back, making her melt against him. "Thanks," she whispered. "If you could just get everyone out-tell them I had work to get back to, or something-that would be great."

"Of course, sweetheart."

She waved her wand over her face to clear the remains of her tears and said her goodbyes to a few more people, keeping her demeanor appropriately somber but still cheerful, Klaus hovering beside her. When she finally stumbled into her bedroom twenty minutes later, she couldn't help but wonder whether she could have gotten through the day with anyone else by her side.

* * *

Caroline had barely been gone for five minutes when he heard her name being thrown out by Damon as he spoke to Camille by the buffet table. Klaus edged closer, frightening someone he vaguely recognized from Hogwarts with a stern glare and making his way close enough to hear the conversation with his heightened senses.

"It must be so hard for her," Camille was saying softly. "I'm sure she'll need some help, even if she's too proud to ask for it."

"And that's why taking over the company is for the best, Cami. I know she won't like it, but she'll see. She's grieving right now," Damon said patiently.

"Oh, Damon. I'm not sure. She seemed so set against giving up any of her control over it."

"You know Bar- _Caroline_ , sweetie. She needs something to control to make herself feel better. She's a cleaning freak and color-codes everything. She'll just turn this into another coping mechanism and get lost in it. What if she gets depressed?"

"I guess that's true," Camille said, trailing off, clearly pulled in by Damon's fake therapy language.

"We have to let her have her grieving process. She won't ask for help, so we have to make sure she gets it. You care about her, so you know that. Just let me take some of her work off her hands. I want to make it easier for her to get through this hard time."

"You're so sweet to think of her," Camille said softly, standing on her toes to kiss her husband softly. "I love how much you care about my family."

 _Your family's money, perhaps,_ Klaus thought, already feeling anger churn within him at their audacity. Caroline didn't need help from such pathetic hangers-on. Not when she was alone, and especially now that she had him to help her. Did Damon truly believe that they'd let any of Caroline's hard-won accomplishments fall into his villainous hands?

Not if he could help it, and he doubted Caroline would object to letting Damon know exactly who was in charge of the family now.

And, no matter how much Caroline didn't want to believe it, Klaus had his suspicions about who killed Bill Forbes, and his list of suspects was one name long. If his theory was correct and he had his way, Damon Salvatore wouldn't live to see his son's first words.

* * *

"My lady?"

It took a few seconds to realize that Enzo was talking to her, and the grief hit her again that day. It seemed to always come whenever she looked at something that reminded her of her father, whether it was a knicknack or a picture or just momentarily forgetting that she couldn't send him a patronus if she needed something.

And now she was Lady of the Forbes family, officially. Even if she had a different name.

"You don't need to call me that. You've known me since I could walk, basically."

"Informality is a slippery slope," Enzo advised softly, nodding at the bodyguard down the hall. "D'you want him to think he has a right to call you by your name?"

Caroline pressed her lips together in a thin line. Ideally, yes. She would prefer it if people could call her Caroline. But old traditions were tricky, and a first-name-basis _meant_ something. Enzo was her friend, but he was still a guard, just like the others. "You're right," she admitted, barely fighting off the urge to wrinkle her nose and forcing a smile on her face. "Sorry. What do you need?"

"Lord Mikaelson wants to see you in his study."

Her smile faltered. "Why?"

"He didn't say. Just told me to get you."

"He couldn't come himself?"

Enzo gave her a look of someone who was already _up to here_ with exasperation levels and would really like her to play along.

"Okay. Lead the way."

She walked beside him to the other wing of the house where Klaus's study was, and Enzo knocked on the door.

"My Lord?" Enzo said, the words somehow dripping with resentment as he stood aside to let Caroline in.

"Thank you, Enzo," he said, waving him off. Caroline had a feeling that Klaus was only being polite because she was there, something she wasn't pleased about. You caught more flies with honey than vinegar, after all. And Enzo was her friend.

"You have to be nicer to him," Caroline said immediately once the door was closed, walking to sit on the chaise by the window. "Enzo's my friend."

His jaw tightened for the briefest moment before he relaxed, not that she was fooled by it. He was annoyed. Probably jealous, she thought with an internal eyeroll. Ugh.

"My apologies, love. I'll endeavor to be less hostile in the future."

"Less hostile sounds like a low bar," Caroline muttered, still scooting over to let Klaus sit beside her and not resisting when he pulled her into his lap, letting her cheek rest against his shoulder as he leaned back against the wall.

"Likely it is. Be patient with me, love. I'm unused to being accommodating of others' feelings."

"Bad excuse. Quit while you're behind," she advised, letting her eyes close.

"Very well, love."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Elijah's finally found time to see us."

That explained why he hadn't told Enzo why he was calling her.

"When? I can clear my schedule."

"Three weeks or so. He'll be on a business trip to London, and I assured him that we'd have time to pop over for dinner."

"Okay," she said agreeably, shifting on Klaus's lap to get more comfortable and relaxing against him. "What does he know about us, again?"

"Just that we're married and that I met you at school. He doesn't ask many questions, likely hoping that I won't tell him anything he doesn't want to know. We tend to stick to safe topics."

"Like?"

"The news. The weather. Whether the food we're eating is subpar."

She giggled. "Okay, well hopefully I won't be too much of a shock to him."

"Elijah is nothing if not unflappable, I assure you."

"Good," she said, humming contentedly when Klaus pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Maybe I can meet your other siblings someday."

"Maybe."

When had she gotten so comfortable with Klaus's casual displays of affection? With him pulling her close and pressing his lips to her temple? She fit in his arms like she'd been made to perfectly rest against the angles of his body, and she couldn't help but sink into bliss when she curled up against him, feeling safe wrapped up in his scent and his touch.

"You know, when we got married I thought I was barely going to see you."

"I remember, love. I also recall informing you that I had some objections to that plan."

"Yeah, you did. I just didn't think you'd be this affectionate."

His thumb paused the casual trace of her ribs, and she felt him shift slightly. "Why?"

She couldn't quite read his tone, and it made her nervous.

"I don't know. Because like, you were basically a dictator at school. Everyone was scared of you. I don't remember you dating anyone seriously. You definitely had something to do with more than a few of the more dangerous incidents, no matter how much you try to deny it... You just seemed like...I don't know. Scary? Like a bit of a sadist?"

"I certainly never meant to scare you," he said slowly.

"You meant to scare everyone, Klaus. You wanted us all to fall in line."

"Not you," he repeated. "Why do you think I pursued your father for your hand? I fancied you."

She froze in his arms. "You what?"

"I fancied you," he repeated, and she shook her head, turning back over to look at him.

"No, about my dad."

He frowned. "Oh. I knew you were likely looking for a match and I also knew that if I approached you directly you'd not believe me."

"So you decided to trick my dad into marrying me off to you?"

"You make me sound so diabolical," he teased. "Yes, I suppose I did. I always wanted you, Caroline. You were so much more than a pretty face, and none of your silly boyfriends could see it. It rankled me."

"You shouldn't have gone behind my back," she muttered, trying to figure out why she wasn't annoyed with him. She _should_ be. "My dad made it sound like he found you."

"No. I arranged a meeting with him under the guise of work. I volunteered for it, actually. I was hoping to get a moment to speak to you alone, but I was unsuccessful. I did manage to convince my boss to make me the first point of contact for your father, and things sort of unfolded from there. I gained his trust and managed to drop enough hints that he thought it was his own idea."

"That's manipulative."

"It worked. I have you now, don't I?"

She nodded without thinking about it, her hand drifting to her belly to close around where he was resting his palm against her skin. "Yeah. I should be mad, though. You totally manipulated him to get what you wanted."

"Does that surprise you?"

"Of course not. I don't know. I can't believe that you went to so much trouble just to marry me. That seems..."

"Out of character?" he suggested when she trailed off.

"Yeah."

"I told you, love. I fancied you."

"So this wasn't about my family's power? Or my money?" she asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"Both," Klaus admitted. "I've enjoyed you since school. I grew more fond of you in the last few years. Your power and influence would be useful to me, but it was more about you than anything else. I couldn't get you out of my head once we'd graduated."

"That's kind of creepy."

"Perhaps," he acknowledged. "But I still am. Fond of you."

"Thanks, I think?" she half-asked.

"And you, Caroline?"

She froze. "And me, what?"

"Do you feel the same?"

She rolled over the question in her head, her heart beating faster as she processed his question. "I..." she began, trying to sort out all of the mixed feelings she had. "I like you, Klaus. I don't mind being married to you."

"Don't mind?" he repeated, laughing quietly, his hand drifting down slightly. "I should hope you more than _don't mind_."

"Fine. I like it. Being married to you," she admitted, the confession not as grudging as she tried to make it seem to be. "But I'm not in love with you, or anything."

"Not yet."

"I mean, I guess it's possible it'll happen eventually," she hedged, knowing that if things continued as they were, it would happen sooner than eventually, no matter how much she tried to resist it.

And really, why was she even trying to resist it anymore?

"I intend to make sure of it," Klaus said softly, shifting behind her. She felt his lips press lightly against her temple, his arm tightening around her waist. They laid in silence for what felt like hours, the room growing steadily darker as the half-moon rose in the sky.

* * *

Klaus shut the door to the portkey gate behind him, resisting the urge to glower at the portkey attendant when she asked him to show his passport in case the news of his rudeness reached the press. During the period of their official engagement when he was still working for Flint-Avery, Caroline had warned (or complained to) him a few times about how the travel staff for the international portkey terminals were surprisingly gossipy. He wasn't in the habit of doubting her observations, she'd always been rather perceptive regarding everything but the depth of her own denial regarding her feelings for him.

Though he'd been unofficially integrated into the business starting a month or two before the wedding, he'd transitioned to working at Forbes, Inc. in an official capacity since a month after they'd gotten back from their honeymoon in early February, and it had only taken him one business trip to find out that, unsurprisingly, she'd been correct.

The staff seemed to have no scruples whatsoever about leaking whatever they saw to the press, and he had quite enough to do without damage control after an already trying work trip. A self-important Malfoy relative had appeared in a slyly taken photograph depicting his flushed face after his fourth firewhiskey, the other passengers looking at him with barely concealed horror. It had been on the front page of the gossip section of the Daily Prophet. Klaus had no desire to be there next.

He would have apparated straight home from Romania, but he was on publicly-known business, and if he didn't have a log on his passport for the trip it would look suspicious. He'd just taken a portkey from a meeting with a dealer of manticore eggs in Romania to London's international arrival hub with four other people, including an old man who kept sneezing on his suit jacket and a woman who was completely covered in cat hair. Didn't she know a basic scouring charm? He'd had to do _several_ when he'd landed to get his suit clean. Caroline would be displeased if he'd arrived home like that, even if Jenna would have been able to solve it within a minute. He did enjoy her moods occasionally, but all he wanted at the moment was to reacquaint himself with her body after the last two weeks without her. He'd gotten used to her presence in his bed over the past few months, to watching her fall apart for him and feeling her touch, and if she was cross with him he'd have to wait to do it again.

He was not fond of _waiting_.

The walk to the apparition point felt too long now that he'd decided he couldn't wait to have her, the sounds of the muggle airplanes above-ground heavy in his ears. Caroline had occupied his thoughts often for the past two weeks, as she had since he'd decided she'd be his, particularly when he was alone at night. It was torture trying to remember the specific soft scent of the lotion she used and how the heat of her skin felt when it was pressed against his front, the exact way that the curve of her waist perfectly cradled his arm when it was wrapped around her body. He'd stroked his cock thinking of her beneath him, wished that it was her delicate hand wrapped around him as she watched him eagerly for reactions rather than his own trying to replicate the perfect slide of her palm against his shaft.

His fantasies had begun to spin themselves in raunchier ways too, the longer he'd been gone. He'd thought about her bent over with her forehead touching the floor in a bow, her arse up in the air as she trembled in anticipation, her pussy growing wet at the knowledge that his palm was about to stain her skin at any moment. He imagined her begging for him as she writhed against gentle touches from his fingers, her hands tied above her head the way she'd teased him so mercilessly the first time he'd caught her touching herself.

He felt a wave of jealousy hit him again, as it always did when he remembered her taunts about her previous lovers. He vaguely knew _of_ Matt Donovan, that he was in the department of games and sports at the ministry, but now he knew too much, and a large part of him craved knowing that he was _dead._ The idea of Caroline, his _wife_ , moaning for anyone but him, begging anyone but him for a touch, made his skin heat with rage. He knew logically that it wasn't her fault. She hadn't known then that she was his. How could she have anticipated? But just the thought of her with anyone else made the wolf in him claw at his insides to show her how good he could make her feel so that she'd never want to leave.

As if he'd ever let her.

When he finally arrived at the apparition point, he turned on his heel and disappeared with a whisper of air, reappearing just inside the front door of the house. He'd been strictly forbidden from apparating straight into their bedroom lest he give Caroline a fright, a rule that she'd insisted he agree to after he'd surprised her by appearing behind her and she'd tried to jinx him before she realized who it was. She never would have hit him, his reflexes were too good for that, but he'd indulged her worries for his safety and promised that he'd try his best not to startle her.

He set down his things for Jenna to take away and set out to find his wife. He found her in the sitting room curled up with a book, the silk of one of the short robes that she wore to cover her nightclothes riding up her thigh to expose a hint of lace underneath. She didn't look up when he entered, likely lost in whatever she was doing, her hair gathered over one shoulder to reveal the creamy skin of her neck, a blank canvas for the red marks he planned to leave on her with his teeth. He'd spent days missing the taste of her, and it took all of his self control not to just rip the book out of her hand and take her lips with his.

"Caroline," he interrupted, his voice rough.

She looked up from her book with a smile, setting her book on the side table and standing up, drawing his eyes to the lace hem of the slip she wore under her robe swishing around her thighs. "You're back," she said happily, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him. "How did it go?"

He ignored her question, too focused on how soft she was against him, the scent of her hair, the way the silk felt when it brushed against his arms. He wanted her. Now.

"We'll talk about it later," he said, pulling back and pressing his lips to hers, satisfied when she immediately melted against him with a soft sigh. He nibbled on her lower lip, rubbing the hem of her slip between his fingers before settling his palms on the back of her thighs, lifting her easily and grinning against her mouth when she let out a soft squeak of surprise when her feet left the floor.

"Klaus!" she protested, pulling her lips from his, her hands curled on his shoulders to keep her balance. "What are you doing?"

"Taking you to bed," he said, pressing kisses to her neck, his voice muffled against her skin. "I need you."

She laughed, her nails digging into his skin as she wriggled in his arms. "I can't go upstairs. I have reading to do."

"Fine," he said, setting her down. "Bend over the coffee table, then."

She raised an eyebrow at the order, though he could see her swallow, her tongue darting over her lips. "Seriously?"

"Now, Caroline," he said softly, fighting down a small smirk as she went slightly pink, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.

"You can't wait?" she asked, even as she began to turn.

"You don't seem opposed," he pointed out, already reaching for the collar of her robe. He intended to help pull it down her arms but she was already bent over, and she couldn't be too upset with him if he ripped it, could she?

"Klaus! That robe was discontinued last Spring!"

"I'll mend it," he promised, bending over her to press a kiss to the back of her neck as he hooked his fingers in the lace of her panties, pulling them down her legs and kneeling behind her, his thumbs pressing into the flesh of her ass, grinning when she squirmed against his touch.

"I've been thinking about this for two weeks," he said, his voice rough as he spoke between kisses to the backs of her thighs, his hands pressing against her legs to encourage her to part them. "I spent every night craving you beneath me, moaning my name."

"Not above you?" she teased, and he laughed quietly, savoring her shiver when his breath hit her sensitive folds.

"I wouldn't object. I'd love to watch you play with your breasts as you roll your hips against my cock. I've yet to convince you to show me exactly how you like to be touched, and I'd love nothing more than to see it while I fill you."

"We can do that."

"Some other time," he promised, bending forward to flick his tongue against her entrance as he unbuckled his belt, grinning at her breathy moan. "If you don't want this ripped as well, take it off."

She shot him an exasperated look over her shoulder but pulled the slip over her head, letting it fall to the couch cushions and leaving her bare to him. He stood, taking his time admiring her bent over for him, her legs spread. "So pretty, love," he complimented, unable to resist stroking himself a few times as he watched her rub her thighs together to ease the ache between them. He pressed a finger inside of her as he did so to make sure she was wet, grinning when he found her soaking.

They both groaned when he pushed inside of her, his hands finding her hips to brace himself as he began to move. He was still learning her body, familiarizing himself with her tells and tics, the places she liked his fingers and tongue the most. His head dropped forward as he moved slowly, savoring the feel of her around him. "You feel amazing, sweetheart," he said, his voice raspy. "So perfect around me. I've been waiting for this for _weeks_."

"Yeah?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Yes. I've been thinking about all the ways I'll reacquaint myself with your body. I've thought extensively about the little preferences I've discovered. I remember the charm you had on when I found you writhing against that toy in our bed. Did you like the way the sheets smelled like me, love? I remember you moaning my name. Were you imagining me fucking you into our mattress? Tell me."

"Yes," Caroline gasped out, her knuckles white as she clutched the table rim.

"Good girl. You seem to like it when I draw things out. When I bring you to the edge of what you can take but stop just before you reach your high? You like that, don't you?'

"Yes."

"I can't wait to pull you into my lap after I've come inside of you. I'll toy with your clit until your eyes glaze over and you're writhing against my fingers before I stop. I'm looking forward to denying you that last touch until you're desperate. Until you beg for it."

She nodded frantically, her hair falling in a curtain around her face as she moaned his name, her walls fluttering around his cock. He sped up his movements, his hand slipping beneath her to rub her clit the way he'd found she liked. Her breathing was ragged as she moved against him, whimpering, desperate for any friction he could give her.

"You're perfect, sweetheart," he gasped out, the feel of her tightening around him when he moved almost too much. He came with a curse, his nails biting into her hips, pulling her into his lap when he sat back on the couch as he'd promised. He arranged her to straddle him, his fingers tangling in her curls while the other worked between her legs, his thumb circling her clit while three fingers curled against her walls, his come and her wetness making it easy to move in quick thrusts.

She moaned loudly, and he shushed her, not letting his movements falter. "Now, love. We don't want to let the servants know what we're getting up to, do we? Or perhaps you do. Do you want to be walked in on? For someone to come in and watch, fascinated as you writhe on my lap, just a brush against your clit away from screaming my name and coming around my fingers? Do you want them to see you weak and needy for me, clutching my shoulders and helpless against my touch?"

His rough tone seemed to do it for her, something he noted when he felt her clench down around his fingers. She gasped out his name as she came before her teeth sank into his shoulder to stifle the noise. The burst of pain made him groan as he plucked at her clit to extend her high, her body going limp against him after she was done, a soft sigh of contentment escaping her.

"That was..." Caroline breathed, practically letting herself sink into him, her face buried in his shoulder so that the next word was muffled. "Amazing."

"You liked it?" he murmured, adjusting her on his lap so that he could press soft kisses to her neck, nipping at the base of it where her throat met her shoulder, sucking a mark that he hoped would stay for a day, at least. "Which part?"

She flushed, likely not just from the way he was touching her.

"I don't know. I like it when you're a little rougher, I guess," she hedged, apparently not wanting to admit what it was about what they'd done that turned her on. He had a feeling it was the possessiveness and the dirty talk. He'd noticed before how her eyes darkened when he spoke of owning and taking, the way that she melted when he whispered how much he liked that she was _his_ in her ear. She clearly wasn't as opposed to his wolf's tendencies as she liked to pretend.

"Well, I suppose I won't be the only one who likes full moons, then."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He leaned back to look her in the eye, grinning when she shifted on top of him, blushing. "My appetites tend to be higher around the moon. My senses are also sharper. It's easier to hear distant sounds or detect _scents._ "

He fought down a smile as it dawned on her what he was implying, the flush creeping up her face. " _Oh_ ," she squeaked.

"Indeed."

"That explains a lot, actually," she muttered. "You get a little rougher around the full moon, and you get all...touchy."

"Touchy?" he asked, grinning.

"Yeah. And like, as a side note," she began, shifting on top of him, her pussy sliding against his half hard cock in a way that made him groan. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine, love. What were you saying?"

"Just that like... I just want to make sure you know that being wolfy isn't an excuse for being aggressive with me. Or snippy."

"Of course not, love. Have I been? I was under the impression that you were enjoying it."

"I mean, yes. It was good. But just for future reference. For non-sex stuff."

"I'll keep it in mind. And do you like it for sex?" he asked, pleased at the pretty flush staining her cheeks, the way she so clearly was fighting with herself because of her temptation to give herself to him completely.

"It's fine in small doses," she said, the small smirk on her lips showing she wasn't as opposed as she was purporting to be. "But don't get too crazy. Okay?"

"I won't, sweetheart. I'll make sure you enjoy _every_ moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I would love for you guys to review and tell me if you had any favorite lines or scenes. Any predictions? Hopes for the next few chapters? How was the smut? Again, thank you for hanging in there with me re: the update schedule. Hopefully I'll see you guys next week!


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